


Syntax Error

by DragonSilk



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, One-Sided Relationship, Reader-Insert, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-07
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2017-11-28 12:05:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 31,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/674210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSilk/pseuds/DragonSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaiba is surprised to find that you're both intelligent and a worthwhile conversation partner. When his interest in you begins to cross the lines of appropriate, will you be able to keep him at arm's length? Despite being his professor, you might quickly discover that you aren't the one with the power in this relationship. </p><p>Seto Kaiba/Reader</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! Possessive Kaiba ahead~!
> 
> Now, I know there's a few teacher/student fics out there, but none for Kaiba, and it recently occurred to me that I could honestly see Kaiba developing an inappropriate interest in a professor. He meets people that he can actually have intellectual discussions with so rarely that he might be a little starved for it.  
> Then I just wanted to write it. :D (I think I have problems because crazy Kaiba is fun to write...)
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this!

**Thump.** A single, heavy knock on the door caused you to look up from your grading. You didn’t bother voicing an invitation to come in as the handle on the door twisted. You knew who it was, and he always let himself in. Sometimes he didn’t even bother with the single knock. 

Despite this, you smiled at Seto Kaiba as he quietly entered your office. The semester had begun only a few short weeks ago, but you were getting to know the young CEO quite well, and he was one of your favorite students. 

Not that you would admit to that. As far as anyone knew, you didn’t have favorites. 

“Good evening, Mr. Kaiba. I hope your day has been going well.” It was the same greeting that you gave to all of your students. Well, almost the same greeting, for most of your students, you usually said good afternoon instead of evening. Your normal office hours were between one and three pm, but Kaiba often requested meetings after six pm. You understood how busy he was—he often missed classes because of work—and you were willing to work around his schedule. 

At the beginning of the semester, you hadn’t felt that way. When the university’s dean had sent you an email, stating that you were to make any concessions necessary for Seto Kaiba, you’d been annoyed. The email had implied that you were supposed to bend over backward and do anything to ensure that Kaiba passed your class. It left a nasty taste in your mouth and caused you to assume that Seto Kaiba was just some spoilt genius who wasn’t really in school to learn anything.

Interacting with Kaiba in your classes quickly cured you of that assumption. He was quiet in lectures and always eager to discuss the material with you outside of class. It was admirable that he often scheduled a meeting with you for every single class that he missed. Most students didn't worry about missing classes, and some students only showed up for the tests. Unlike many of those students, Kaiba probably didn’t need to bother. You didn't think that there was anything that you could honestly teach him about the subject, but his willingness to discuss it with you made him one of your favorite students. It made you willing to take the time out of your personal life to speak with him. 

If you were honest with yourself, you would have to admit that he taught you more than you taught him.

“Shouldn't you be eating dinner by now?” Kaiba was still standing near the door and had yet to move toward either of your empty chairs.

You never understood why he always asked you such aggressive questions at the start of all your meetings. Things like, “Why aren't you home yet?” or “Isn't someone waiting for you?” At first, his questions had caused you some discomfort. Did it matter if you wanted or needed to be somewhere else? You were here talking to him.

By now, you were used to those questions, and you simply brushed them off. “I would be, Mr. Kaiba, but you requested a meeting at this time.” You were still smiling. “Do you want to discuss what we've gone over in class this week?”

“Pack up. We'll discuss the material over dinner.”

It took you a moment to fully digest his words, but you still didn't understand what he'd just said. “I don't... I think that would be inappropriate, Mr. Kaiba.” You didn't know what sort of context he was asking you out under, but he was your student so it didn't matter.

He frowned, and you wondered how often people actually turned down an invitation from him. 

“I eat with business associates all the time. There's nothing inappropriate about it.”

For a moment, you actually felt like he had a point. You often ate with your colleagues and discussed your classes together. Then you realized the major error in that logic: Kaiba was equating you with an associate, and you were equating him with a colleague.

Even though you often discussed the subject with him rather than doing any actual teaching, he was still your student. You couldn't let that line become blurry. He was not your colleague. His intelligence and knowledge put him on their level and on your level, but he was still your student.

“I understand, but I'm your professor, and I don't think I should be eating dinner with a student.” You carefully put emphasis on the word 'student,' hoping that he would get the point.

He turned away and left your office without a word. You stared at your open door and wondered what that had been about. With a sigh, you began to wrap up the work that you had been doing. Even though you liked Kaiba, you were a little annoyed at him. He had asked you to be in your office at this time in the evening, and now he was essentially standing you up. Maybe he was just hungry?

Retrospectively, this moment should have been your first warning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **This chapter has been edited as of 10/20/2016.** I combined the original chapter 2 and chapter 3 into a single cohesive chapter. A transitional scene was written to allow the two to flow together. To any rereaders, please let me know how you like the new version!

The next day, when you walked into your class, you realized that something was off about your surroundings. It only took you a moment to note that Kaiba was sitting in the front row, dead center. That was strange and a little unsettling.

When you spoke to other professors, they found it odd to hear that he attended class most of the time, but you were under the impression that he really didn’t miss class unless it was unavoidable. The odd part about today was that he was sitting in the front row. On the days he actually attended class, he always took up residence in the back of the room. He was often quiet and very rarely participated in any class discussion, which you were actually quite grateful for. On occasion, you caught him scoffing or rolling his eyes at his classmates when they made inaccurate comments, and you were glad he never vocalized his censure of them.

You hoped that his current position didn't mean that he planned to call out any of his classmates. As a professor, you couldn't support that sort of behavior. Sadly, you weren’t sure you could control him. If he decided to put down his classmates, nothing you could say would stop him.

As you started your lecture, you couldn't help but constantly glance over at Kaiba in an attempt to figure out why he'd decided to sit in the front of the room today. He didn't seem to be paying any more attention than usual, but he did seem to instinctively know when you were looking at him because your eyes kept meeting his own.

He didn't participate in the class discussion, and you were mostly thankful for that. At the same time, you wondered what he would have said had he spoken up. 

After the lesson was over, you did your best to answer any questions or concerns that your students had as you packed up. By the time all of the lingering students cleared out of the room, Kaiba was gone as well. 

You pushed away your disappointment. You shouldn’t have expected him to stick around. Perhaps you just weren't meant to know what caused his change in seat. You hoped it wasn't permanent. Having him up front like that was somehow distracting.

Absorbed in your thoughts, you didn't notice Kaiba waiting right outside the classroom and nearly ran into him. He grabbed your shoulders to stop you from walking face-first into his stomach. “Professor.”

“Mr. Kaiba.” You smiled up at him, waiting for him to release your shoulders. Instead, his hands slid down to rest on your arms. You felt your mouth turn down as you wondered why he wasn’t letting you go. “Was there something you needed?”

“Why didn't you bring up the new C++ standard that was recently approved?”

The unexpected criticism of your lesson almost caused you to recoil. “This is just an introductory class. I don't want to go into things that they don't need to know. Did you want to discuss it today?” That could explain why he was in the front row. The new standard could impact his company so it would be a topic of interest for him.

“I expected it to be discussed.” He looked away from your face and seemed to realize that he was still holding you. He slowly removed his hands, and you were relieved that you weren't going to have to ask him to let you go.

“If you wanted to talk about it, you could have brought it up during the lecture.”

He scoffed. “I didn't want to confuse my classmates.”

You weren't sure how to respond to that. You wished that he would realize that his classmates weren't as stupid as he believed. They just didn't have the education or background that he did. At the same time, as long as he wasn't undermining them during lecture, it wasn't any of your business.

You decided to ignore his comment. “Well I'm going to lunch now, but I have office hours after lunch, and you know that you can always schedule office time outside of those hours. Until tomorrow, Mr. Kaiba.”

His hand reached out to stop you, and you couldn't help but be slightly alarmed at the contact. That was the second time that he'd made physical contact with you today, and you couldn't figure out why it made you feel so uncomfortable. 

Maybe it was because he was a student? Physical contact was unnecessary and uncomfortable by nature with a student. At the same time, he hadn't meant anything by it either time.

He seemed to be expecting something from you, and you realized that he was probably waiting for a response to something. “I'm sorry, I just spaced out. Could you repeat what you just said?”

He seemed to realize what the problem was and released his grip on your arm. “Lunch would be a good time to have a discussion about the new standard, programmer to programmer.”

You considered his offer. You normally ate lunch with your colleagues, but you didn't think that they would mind if Kaiba joined the group. It was usually a mix of professors and T.A.s, and Kaiba was close enough to being a T.A. as far as you were concerned. Your conversations with him were more like the sort of conversations you would have with a grad student. 

Besides, you were a little curious about how Kaiba would be dealing with the change as the CEO of an electronics and gaming company.

“I eat lunch with a few colleagues in the commons area. You can join me if you'd like?” you offered after deciding that you couldn’t see a reason not to eat lunch with Kaiba. Besides, it was a public location. Kaiba could simply follow you there if he wanted to. The majority of people who ate in the commons area were students like Kaiba.

Kaiba nodded. “I suppose that would be suitable.” 

You nodded and started walking, giving Kaiba a moment to fall in step with you. “Have you eaten in the student commons yet?” With any other student, you wouldn’t even bother asking, but somehow, you felt like Kaiba might avoid the area. You had already noticed the way he kept to himself in class. He didn’t socialize with his fellow students. Sometimes you wondered if it was by choice or if he didn’t know how to socialize. 

“No,” he responded. You waited for him to say more, and when he didn’t, you weren’t sure what else to say. 

Your phone vibrated in your bag, and you glanced at the screen. It was a text, but you could respond later so you shoved the phone back into the bag. It reminded you of something that you wanted to ask Kaiba. “The rumor mill says there’s a new Kaiba Corp. phone coming out at the end of the year.” 

He glanced over, frowning. “What do you want? A prototype?” His tone was harsh and tinged with anger. 

You took a moment to consider a response. He thought that you were trying to get something for free, but that wasn’t why you asked at all. “I was wondering when it might get released? I know it’s shameless,” you joked. “I’m trying to get sensitive information from a student.” You smiled, hoping he understood that you really weren’t trying to take advantage of him. “My phone is having some problems, and I’m afraid it might be my fault. I might have made some modifications to it.” 

“It’s a Kaiba phone?”

“Of course.” 

“I might have time to look at it,” he offered. “I’m sure anything you screwed up would be easy to fix.” 

“Thanks.” You refrained from doing something immature like sticking your tongue out at him. You were an adult and his professor. “I think it might be done for though. The battery is starting to give up, too. I’m due for an upgrade, but if there’s a new model coming out, I’d like to wait.” 

“Don’t get a new phone yet.” 

You bit your lip. “Any hint on when the new one will come out?” 

“No.” He stopped walking, and you took a few more steps before stopping as well. You waited for him to speak, and this time, he didn’t disappoint you. “I don’t give out inside information for free.” 

You shrugged. “That’s fair. I guess I’ll wait for the announcement like everyone else.” Then you started walking again. There wasn’t anything else to say, and the two of you were already in the outer edges of the common area. 

As you approached the cafeteria area, you asked, “Do you want to split up to get food and then meet at a table?” 

"There's nothing worth eating here.” He was clearly unimpressed by all the different food stands.

“Well if you want to leave it's okay.” You smiled to let him know that it wouldn't offend you if he decided to leave. “Send me an email, and we can arrange another time to talk.”

“No. I have time now.”

“Okay.” That was unexpected. You didn't think that a man as busy as he was would be willing to sit and not have lunch with you. Just talking to you couldn't be a very productive use of his time. “Well, I'm going to grab lunch, I'll meet you at a table?”

He nodded, and the two of you briefly went your own separate ways.

As you waited in line, you were approached by the head of your department, Daitaro Ihara. He was somewhere in his forties but actually looked much younger than that. Despite his young looks, he was well-known in the world of programming and someone that you thought that Kaiba might want to talk to.

“Hello Daitaro! It's nice to see you out of your office,” you greeted. It was a running joke among the department that he practically lived in his office. Sometimes he could be found in the computer labs, but otherwise, he rarely stopped working long enough to be seen anywhere else.

“Only for the moment. I'm getting some lunch, and then I'll be going back. How are your classes this quarter?”

“I'm enjoying them. The students seem to be interested in the material.”

“Seto Kaiba isn't giving you any trouble is he? One of the math professors apparently had a breakdown last week.”

You hadn't heard about that. “Because of him?”

“That's what I've heard.”

You frowned. Kaiba was very direct, to the point of being a little on the harsh side, but it was nothing worth having a breakdown over. It probably had to do with more than just him. “Well, he's one of my favorite students to be honest. I've told you about some of the discussions I've had with him during office hours.”

“I worry about you. Not because you're new to our teaching staff, but because of what I've been hearing about him. If he's giving you trouble, I want to know.”

You tried to stop a grin from taking over your face. It was touching to know that your department chair was concerned for you. “Really, I enjoy having him in my class, even if he teaches me more than I teach him. In fact, I'm supposed to have lunch with him to discuss the new standard. If you're not too busy, you could join us?”

Daitaro's eyebrows shot up. “He's having lunch with you?”

“It was his suggestion.” You shrugged. “He's so busy that I've gotten used to just making time for him.”

Daitaro checked his watch. “I think I have enough time to join in the discussion.”

After ordering food, the two of you searched for Kaiba. You found him talking on his phone and sitting at a small table near the back of the eating area. You were eager to introduce him to Daitaro, thinking that they would have a lot to talk about, but you didn't want to interrupt his conversation.

You ended up not having to worry about that. Kaiba noticed your approach, and when you put your food down on the table, he ended his conversation. Then he gave a pointed glare to your department chair.

You took that moment to introduce them. “This is the head of the CS department, Daitaro Ihara. Daitaro, this is Seto Kaiba.”

“It's nice to meet you, Kaiba.” Daitaro held out his hand for a handshake, but Kaiba simply stared at it.

“I've heard of you. Some of your ideas about program efficiency are simply ridiculous.”

Your eyes widened, and you couldn't stop your jaw from dropping. It was just like a horror movie, and as your hand covered your mouth, you realized that you didn't actually know the extent of Kaiba's superiority complex. There was no way he was honestly criticizing Daitaro Ihara.

Daitaro took it all in stride. “Really? Well I'm always open to a good debate.”

Kaiba scoffed and looked to the side with a smirk. “It's not a debate. There are so many flaws in the logic of your ideas that it's laughable.”

Daitaro took a step back and shot you a look that was clearly questioning your sanity. “I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'll be going.” He quickly said farewell, but you were too shocked to even respond. You waved half-heartedly, but no words came out of your mouth.

A student, your student, had just verbally ripped apart your boss.

“That was rude.” The words came out of your lips the moment that the shock wore off. You still didn't fully understand what had just happened, and you were speaking more to yourself than him. It was almost like stating the obvious would help you figure out what was going on.

Then you remembered that you'd just defended Kaiba. “I am so fired,” you moaned.

“You shouldn't even be working here.”

Kaiba's announcement was so abrupt and random that you thought you must have misheard him. “Excuse me?”

His eyes focused entirely on you, and it was difficult to maintain eye contact with him when he seemed to be concentrating on you. Other people just looked, but Seto Kaiba seemed to see every single detail.

“You don't belong here. Someone of your caliber and intelligence shouldn't be _teaching_.” He said the word like it was disgusting. “You should be working for me at Kaiba Corp. Even a starting salary would be more than you make now.”

You weren't sure if he was serious or not, but you did know that now was not the time nor place for a conversation with him. “I can't do this right now.” You stood up. “Send me an email and we'll arrange office hours. I need to go apologize to Daitaro. Good day, Mr. Kaiba.” You nearly ran away from him, escaping before he could stop you.

You left your food behind, and later you might regret not eating your lunch, but at the moment, you were too busy hoping that your department head wouldn’t hold your student’s words against you.


	3. Chapter 3

Daitaro didn't hold Kaiba's actions against you, but that didn't stop him from questioning whether or not you could really handle having Kaiba in your class. He told you that he was simply concerned that Kaiba was too arrogant and rude, not that he was concerned about your teaching abilities, but that didn't stop you from being insulted when he told you that he would be teaching your next class. 

You couldn't fight him on the matter. He was your boss, and if he decided to take over your class for the rest of the quarter, there was nothing you could do about it. 

So you hoped that Kaiba wouldn't screw things up for you. If that class was taken from you, then it would be one less class that you were paid for, and one less class would make your paycheck drop significantly. You could not afford that. 

When you sent an email out to your class, informing them that you would be unable to make the next lecture and that Mr. Ihara would be taking over for you, you seriously considered sending Kaiba a separate email asking him to please be nice. 

It probably wouldn't do anything, so you just affixed a general, 'Be on your best behavior,' to the mass email. You also let them know that you would still be having office hours that day. Nobody had a meeting scheduled with you, but you wanted to be available to your students just in case.

When you showed up for office hours, you discovered one of your students already sitting outside your door. Tsukiko Numata, one of your overachievers and the girl who normally sat in the front center of your class. You were pleased that she'd decided to show up to office hours today. It would be nice to hear what Daitaro had taught your class.

“Good afternoon, Miss. Numata. I hope today's lecture went well.”

“It was okay, but there were some things I was confused about.” 

You couldn't say that was unexpected. Daitaro was unaccustomed to teaching students who weren't CS majors, and he tended to use vocabulary that some of your students might not have known. Hopefully those students would either show up to office hours or ask questions during the next lecture. 

While you were helping Tsukiko with the material, Kaiba walked right into your office without even knocking. You were about to tell him that he would have to wait a moment, but he spoke first.

“Get out,” he ordered the student across from you before you could get a word in. 

You rose from your seat. “Mr. Kaiba, you don't have an appointment. So I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside while I finish talking with Miss. Numata.” You could only accommodate Kaiba to a certain degree before it became ridiculous. You were still his professor, and there was no way that you would allow him to just toss one of your students out of your own office.

“I don't have time to wait.” 

His tone was harsh, but you were not about to let him boss you around. He was not the one in control here. This was not his office; it was yours. “Office hours are first come, first served without an appointment. You know that.”

He opened his mouth but shut it quickly. Then he sent Tsukiko a withering glare, perhaps trying to intimidate her into going away. Maybe it would have worked, but you could tell that Tsukiko was still irritated that he'd stolen her seat two days ago. She was glaring slightly at your desk, refusing or unable to look in Kaiba's direction. She remained firmly seated.

After a moment, Kaiba finally broke the silence. “I'll be back later tonight.” Then he stormed out of your office, letting the door slam behind him. 

You momentarily forgot about the student sitting across from you as you fell back into your seat. Going head-to-head with Kaiba like that was exhausting and a little bit terrifying. You were his professor, but you had the feeling that that wouldn't stop him from completely disrespecting you if he felt like it.

“He's so scary!” Tsukiko's words reflected your thoughts and reminded you of her presence.

“He's very...” Your sentence trailed off, unable to think of an appropriate word. It wouldn't be right to call one student 'self-centered' in front of another student. “Yes. Did he cause any trouble today in class?”

“Ah, no, he wasn't even there. But the professor asked us about him.” 

“Really?” You hoped Daisuke had heard something good. “What did you guys say?” 

“Just that Kaiba isn't ever in class. He doesn't even talk when he is there. What is there to say about him?” 

You smiled. “Nothing.” That was good. At least you still had a job. You almost wanted to go out drinking to celebrate.

Of course you couldn't. Kaiba stated he would be back, and you probably should wait in your office for him. You just hoped he wouldn't take too long. 


	4. Chapter 4

Kaiba usually asked for meetings between six and eight, so you decided to stay in your office and work for that time frame. You were hoping that he would show up closer to six, but you ended up having to wait hours for him to show up. 

When you looked down at your clock and realized that it was eight-fifteen, you decided that it was time to leave. You were done with a majority of your work, and you wanted to get home before it got too late. Kaiba would simply have to meet with you another time.

You ran into him at the door to the building. Before he could snap at you, you spoke up. “I was just leaving. You'll have to talk to me at a later date.” You tried to brush past him, but he stepped into your path. 

“I informed you that I would be coming by tonight.” 

For such a skinny stick, he took up a lot of space. His invasion of space forced you to take a step back and away from him. “I waited for you for two hours. I'm sorry but I need to get home now.” You almost wanted to just give in and have the meeting, but it was after eight and dark outside. You didn't like being on campus this late at night. 

“Fine.”

You were surprised that he was giving in this easily. Shouldn't he be arguing with you right now? You flashed him a smile as you stepped around and past him. His hand shot out and grabbed your wrist.

You should have known that it was too easy to be true.

“I'll walk you to your car.” 

“No, it's okay.” You tried not to let your discomfort show. “I'll be fine.” 

“Don't be ridiculous.” 

You bristled slightly at the idea that you couldn't take care of yourself. “I walk alone to my car all the time.” 

“Not tonight.” 

Well at least his heart was in the right place? Even if it was irritating and a little bit too intimate. “Fine.” 

The walk to your car was silent. You kept expecting him to bring up whatever he'd wanted to meet you about, but he never said anything. By the time you got to the parking lot, the silence was already so established that you couldn't think of anything to say to break it. 

The parking lot was nearly empty, and you were honestly surprised that your car wasn't the only one there. There was even a car parked next to your own.

You unlocked and opened your car door. “Good night.” 

You stood there awkwardly for a moment before realizing he wasn't going to say anything in response. So you slid into your car and closed the door. While you were starting up your car, you realized that he was getting into the car next to you. 

What were the odds?

\-----

When you got to your apartment, you found Kaiba standing right outside your door. “What are you doing here?” you blurted out.

“Waiting for you.” He made it sound like that was the most obvious answer in the world, except it wasn't what you really wanted to know.

“Why?” Then another thought occurred to you. “And how did you find me?” You knew that you never told him where you lived, so how did he find out?

“The school has your address in their records,” he said as if looking at their records was the easiest thing in the world. 

Maybe for him it was, but that didn't make it okay. This was just _wrong_ , and as you stood in the hallway, you couldn't figure out what to say. 

He broke the silence. “You still owe me a meeting.”

So that was why he was here. “Yes, tomorrow or the day after that. **In my office**. _Not my home_.” He really needed to figure out that there were boundaries that he shouldn't be crossing. 

The more important question would be why he was crossing these boundaries, but you honestly couldn't think of a plausible reason other than a complete disregard for social rules.

“I tried to meet with you in your office twice.”

That was so ridiculous, but you could tell you weren't winning this argument. So you gave up and invited him in.

Besides, you were surprised that none of your neighbors were yelling at you for having a conversation in the hallway yet.

“You live in a shitty apartment.” 

_Seriously_? That was the first thing that he felt the need to say upon walking into your apartment? “Gee, thanks,” you sarcastically responded. “Feel free to leave anytime.” 

He just continued to stare at you without responding. He probably wanted to know why you were living in such a bad neighborhood by yourself, but it was honestly none of his business. It should be obvious that you were living here because you didn't have the money for anywhere better, and that was the most that he needed to know. 

You were the first to cave and break the silence. “What was so important that you felt the need to follow me home?” 

“I didn't _follow_ you,” he snapped. 

“Semantics.” You shrugged. “Get to the real point. I have a dinner to cook.” 

“You may cook. I'll wait.” 

His tone was completely dismissive, as if he didn't care what you did either way. You studied him wondering if he was actually trying to invite himself to dinner. If you cooked while he was still present then you would feel the need to invite him to stay simply because it was the polite thing to do. Was he betting on that?

No, surely he wasn't. There was no reason for a man like him to want to eat your mediocre cooking. 

“If this can't wait until tomorrow, then you might as well talk about it now.”

“Why were you absent from lecture this morning?” 

“That's a personal question.” Meaning you weren't going to answer it.

“I deserve to know why one of my professors isn't showing up to lecture. Especially considering the money I pay for my classes. An irresponsible professor deserves to be reported.” 

Damn, he totally had you there. Stubborn ass. “I was ordered by Daitaro to stand down for the day thanks to your lovely display during lunch.” If Kaiba wanted the truth, then he could have it. “Thanks to you, Daitaro questioned whether or not I was capable of handling my students.”

Kaiba seemed to be completely unaffected by your hostility. “Your skills are wasted on such an idiotic man.” 

“Daitaro is not idiotic!”

Kaiba ignored your outburst. “Work for me. You'll be able to afford living somewhere nicer than... _this_.” 

You couldn't believe he was offering you a job again. Was he serious? “No. I like my job. I enjoy teaching.”

“I'm offering you double what you make now.”

You pulled the door of your apartment back open. “Sometimes, Mr. Kaiba, it's about more than just the money. Now I'm going to have to ask you to please leave.” 

He stood there unmoving for a moment and studied you. You weren't sure what he was looking for, or what he wanted to know, and you didn't know if he actually found it. 

“Consider my offer. You would be a fool to turn it down.” 

Maybe you were a fool, you mused as you closed the door behind him, but you had no intention of accepting his offer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is a lot of fun, because it's kind of like a mystery. There's a whole bunch that goes on behind the scenes that the reader simply doesn't know about. 
> 
> Kaiba is sneaky, and he knows how to cover up his tracks. Some of his sabotage is very obvious, but some of it is so subtle that I'm curious if you guys'll be able to figure it out. (It's also a bit of a challenge for me to convey what he's doing without being obvious.)
> 
> Go ahead and guess away~

When you arrived at your next introductory class, you were surprised to find your supervisor in the room. If he had something he wanted to talk to you about, you were sure that he would have called you or met up with you in your office.

“Did you need something?” His reason for being in your class, whatever it was, didn't matter very much. You honestly just wanted to get him out before Kaiba walked in and decided to insult him again.

“Didn't you get my email?”

You simply stared at him. It wouldn't be polite to say that, no, you never got his email, and didn't the complete and utter surprise on your face tell him that?

“I'll be observing today. I sent you an email about it last night.” 

“I checked my email this morning, and I didn't see anything in there from you.” You wanted to swear and curse, maybe not at Daitaro, but at someone. His presence threw a wrench into your plans for the class period. Many of your students were confused about the subject that he'd taught last time, and you had planned to go over it with them. You couldn't do that while he was sitting right there. It would seem like you were disrespecting his teaching abilities. Which you weren’t… he just wasn’t very good at explaining concepts for the students who weren’t CS majors. 

Daitaro didn't seem bothered. “Well, don't worry about it. I'll just be sitting in the back. You won't even know I'm here.”

Kaiba will. The thought flashed across your mind, and you hoped that Kaiba wouldn't show up for class. 

Daitaro made his way to the back of the room, and as he settled into the seat in the corner, you were forced to bite your lip. You wanted to scream, “NO! Don't sit there!” but refrained. Causing a scene wouldn’t be the best way to start a class. Daitaro would surely want to know why, and saying that you didn't want him to sit there because Kaiba usually sat there would sound bad. 

At this point, you were crossing your fingers and desperately hoping Kaiba wouldn't show up. _Please don't show up. Please don't show up._

The door opened, and a whimper escaped your throat the moment Kaiba walked into the room. He gave you a slight nod before his eyes scanned the room and landed on Daitaro. He seemed to grit his teeth slightly as he glared across the room at your boss. 

Hiding beneath the table at the front of the room was starting to sound like a good idea. 

The crisis seemed to be averted as Kaiba settled into a seat in the front of the room. You were so relieved that he wasn't attacking Daitaro that you didn't worry about the implications of Kaiba sitting in the front row.

The last time he sat in the front row, Kaiba had maintained his usual silence. This time you weren't so lucky. One of your students asked you a question about the lab work, and Kaiba loudly supplied him with a sarcastic response. 

“Mr. Kaiba!” you snapped. “That was out of line.” 

He stared at you, completely unrepentant, and you knew that any response he might give you would not be at all similar to an apology. So you answered the student's question without waiting from a response from Kaiba. Mentally, you gave yourself a pat on the back for handling the situation.

The pat on the back ended up being completely undeserved. Kaiba refused to be chastised by you and continued to make snarky comments. Eventually you were forced to draw a line.

“Mr. Kaiba, if you are unable to refrain from making such immature comments, I must ask that you leave my class.”

You saw a few jaws drop open, and you didn't know if it was because kicking someone out was uncharacteristic of you or because it was Seto Kaiba that you were threatening. 

Kaiba seemed more amused than anything else, and that really irritated you. You were starting to understand why that math professor might have been driven to a meltdown. 

You couldn't afford a meltdown. You couldn't even afford to show your fear. Kaiba might be able to sense it. You continued to glare at him as you moved on with the lesson. He didn't say anything for the rest of the lecture, but neither did anyone else in the class.

At the end of the lecture, you requested that Kaiba stay behind to talk to you.

“I only have a moment.” 

You sighed. You would have liked to wait for everyone else to leave before yelling at him, but Kaiba was going to make that impossible. “I don't know what got into you today, but I didn't appreciate the constant interruptions to my class. The next time you're having a bad day, please don't show up.” 

You knew that Daitaro probably wanted to talk to you, and there were students still present who might have had something to say, but you didn't care. You simply stormed off without giving Kaiba any time to respond. It was unprofessional, but you knew that you wouldn’t be able to hold a civil conversation with anyone at this point. 

Today, you were going to treat yourself to lunch somewhere nice that was far away from the college campus, but first you needed to stick a post-it to your door so that your students would know that you might be late for your office hours.

Maybe you should be concerned that you were essentially blowing off your boss, or maybe you should have worried about Kaiba, but as far as you were concerned, they could just attack each other. You were going to have lunch without worrying about either of them. It would be nice to get away and not think about your job. 

Your phone went off as you were trying to decide where to eat. You assumed that it was probably an email even though it could easily have been a text. An email was far more likely. Either way, it could wait until you decided where you were going for lunch. Especially if it was an email from your boss telling you that he wanted to speak with you about your inability to control Kaiba. 

Like he could do any better. Kaiba hated him. 

In fact, he could go ahead and try to take over your class. You liked your boss, but based on all the animosity that Kaiba threw his way, you'd give him a month before he snapped. 

You settled on a tiny yet appealing cafe. It looked like the sort of place that served good sandwiches. You ordered the first thing on the menu to catch your eye and a hot drink since it was a chilly day. They gave you a number and told you that your order would be brought to your table. 

Unwillingly you pulled out your phone once you were settled into a seat. It was time to face the music. You hit the power button and unlocked your phone in the same practiced motion. Then you slid down the taskbar before realizing that it was completely empty. No unread text and no unread email. You could have sworn that you'd heard your phone make the noise that indicated one or the other. 

Perhaps you were just hearing things? 

Suddenly your phone dinged, and the symbol for a new email appeared at the top of the screen. You checked the email and noted that it was an email from about twenty minutes ago, around the time you thought that you'd heard your phone go off. How odd. You were going to have to check your email next time you were at a computer. 

Pushing the matter to the back of your mind for the moment, you enjoyed your lunch break. You could easily inspect your email later when you got back to your office. 

It was hard to motivate yourself into going back to work, but you managed. Once you got back to your office, you ended up regretting not looking into the matter sooner. You hadn’t expected something to actually be wrong with your email. You assumed that the previous incident was just technology being special. You worked with technology and knew it did stupid stuff all the time. Well, this time you were wrong. When you checked your sent folder, you noticed that an email had gone out this morning before you were even awake. On top of that, the recipient appeared to be one of your coworkers.

You clicked on the email, and you were horrified to see that it read, “ _I'd rather not waste any of my time having lunch with you._ ”

Surely you hadn't sent that? There was no way! Except... it was in your sent folder. The information in the header indicated that it was from you.

You weren't sure what to do first: change your password or send out an apology to your coworker. The quoted email revealed that he had sent you an email yesterday asking if you wanted to discuss your classes over lunch. 

You didn't even remember getting that email. 

You swore violently. This was not good. Your email had clearly been hacked, and you were going to have to change your password and do some damage control. 

This should have been the second major sign that something suspicious was going on in your life, but you were too busy wondering if the day could get any worse to think about the details of the situation. 

As you were pounding out an apology to your coworker, the world answered your rhetorical question. There was a quick knock on the door before it opened to reveal your boss. 

The world was clearly giving you the finger.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually working on a new chapter for this story. :) I probably won't be caught up here by the time it's done, but it's very exciting to be working on new things!

“Hello Daitaro,” you greeted him as pleasantly as you could given the circumstances.

He wasn't smiling at you. Whatever he wanted to talk about was serious enough that your cheerful boss wasn't smiling. That fact alone told you that you were screwed. “You left your class before I could talk to you. Do you have a moment?”

“Sure.” Well it wasn't like you could actually say no to the question. “What's up?”

Daitaro took his time sitting down in the chair across from your desk. You could tell that he was trying to figure out how he was going to say what he wanted to say, and you wished you could just tell him to spit it out.

“I'm concerned about Seto Kaiba's behavior in your class,” he finally said. “You seem to be handling him, but it appears stressful. I don't want you to burn out before the end of the quarter.”

“It's fine. He's almost never in class.” You didn't bother trying to tell Daitaro that Kaiba's performance today was the first time he'd ever said anything during class. Given how Kaiba acted around Daitaro, you didn't think Daitaro would believe you. “I'm not having any problems with him.”

“I'm sorry about this, I really am, but I just don't feel like a new professor should have to deal with a behavior problem like Seto Kaiba.”

Your stomach dropped. He was really going to take your class from you.

“Initially I wanted to have you switch classes with one of the other professors, but I don't want to force them to teach Seto Kaiba either. I'll be taking over your classes.”

He couldn't do that. You needed the class. Your paycheck was based on how many classes you were teaching, and you couldn't afford to have that number drop. “Please reconsider. I need both of my classes to pay the bills.”

Daitaro frowned. “I'm sorry to hear that. I'll see what I can do about finding you another class to teach.” He stood and nodded. “Don't worry about your class. I'll be taking it over from here on. That decision is final.”

You found yourself slightly irritated with Daitaro. How dare he pretend that he was trying to look out for you and then just dismiss you like that. You were having absolutely no problems with your class or Kaiba before Daitaro came into the picture. The more you thought about it, the more irritated you became. You breathed deeply, trying not to explode as he left your office.

“Daitaro?” you questioned, catching his attention before he cleared the doorway. “If you're taking over my class, then you should know that my office hours are right now. I'll be sure to send anyone who shows up over to your office.” You smiled a huge, fake smile at him. “Goodbye.”

“Well, I will be in my office so that works out perfectly. Have a nice day!”

“Nice day my ass,” you muttered after he was gone. You put your elbows on the surface of your desk and covered your face with your hands. This day was completely irredeemable.

Okay, it was time to think. Your paycheck was about to be cut, and you needed more money. At least for the next few months. The semester was almost over, and by next semester, you would have enough classes to pay your bills again, but for the next few months, you were going to be in a tight spot.

You were just going to have to get a second job. There was absolutely no other way. You were already miserly with your money, spending as little as possible, so it wasn't like you could honestly cut back that much.

You wrote a note to anyone who might come by your office and redirected them to Daitaro's office. You felt bad that your students would have to deal with Daitaro now but that couldn't be your problem. You needed the time to find another job.

What sort of job could you do? It wasn't like you could just apply for a job at a fast food restaurant. You were “overqualified” for that, whatever that meant. If you were willing to do the job then you didn't think that a place should turn you away for being overqualified, but that was just your opinion.

Maybe an electronics store would hire you? You could sell computer parts to people. You could also help people fix their computers so perhaps you could get a computer company to hire you for part-time work helping people over the phone.

It was a starting point at least.

You were going to spend all your newly acquired free time applying for work anywhere and everywhere you could. Surely someone would hire you.

You just didn't expect that you would have an offer before the day ended.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the 19th chapter for this fic recently. I'm kind of excited to get to it. :)

Later that night, you were surprised to hear someone pounding on your apartment door. You were sitting on the couch in your pajamas with a blanket wrapped around yourself. It was a comfortable position to watch TV in, and you really didn't want to move. 

The knocks were close together and loud. Whoever was at the door was impatient, and you could tell that they wouldn't be going away anytime soon. So you reluctantly removed yourself from your warm cocoon to answer the door. 

You weren't expecting anyone so you figured that it would be one of your neighbors, ready to yell at you for something ridiculous. When you looked through the peephole and saw only a broad chest with the letters KC emblazoned on the shoulder, you were confused and surprised. Slowly, you cracked open the door and confirmed that it was indeed Seto Kaiba. 

“In case you haven't heard, I'm no longer your professor thanks to that spectacular display of jackass behavior today in class. If you need anything, go talk to your new professor.” You were about to close the door when he shoved his foot in the doorway. He tried to push your door open, but luckily the chain was in place, stopping the door from opening any further. 

He growled with frustration. “I'm here to talk business. Let me in.” 

You leaned against your door, but his foot stayed in your way. You didn't appreciate his efforts to force his way into your apartment. “It's late, and I'm tired. I don't have anything to talk about with you.” 

“I don't have time for this,” he growled. He opened his briefcase and pulled out at stack of papers. “Look these over. I'll be back tomorrow.” He shoved the papers through the gap and straight into your face. 

You simply stared at the papers, and he waved them impatiently. “If I take these, will you leave?” 

“Yes.” 

You took the papers and stared pointedly at his foot. He removed it from your doorway. “Good night, Mr. Kaiba.” You slammed the door in his face. 

You simply threw the papers on your coffee table without even looking at them. Whatever they were didn't matter at the moment. You were far too irritated that Kaiba had tried to push his way into your apartment. You knew he was pushy, but that was just rude and a little bit creepy. 

As you stared at the TV screen, the show stopped registering, and you started wondering what the papers said. Curiosity eventually won out and you found yourself looking over the papers. 

When you got to the end of the documents, you reread them just to be sure that your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. They were still the terms and conditions of your new job, or at least the new job that you _would_ have if you chose to sign the papers. If you read them once more, maybe the words would change... 

No, and that salary stood out every single time. When Kaiba had offered you a job, you honestly hadn't thought that he was serious, and you really didn't expect the proffered job to be such a huge pay increase. 

Angrily you tossed the papers back onto the table. You were not going to sign that. Sure it came with nice benefits, but it was a _desk job_ at **Kaiba Corp**. You liked teaching, and you didn't want to work for a boss who was notorious for firing people at the drop of a hat. Today proved that Seto Kaiba was Satan in a Sunday hat. The offer looked good but it would just make you miserable. 

Except, you couldn't make rent with your current job. It was just impossible. So did you really have room to reject such a good offer when it came your way? 

You would have to talk to Seto Kaiba. Even though you didn't want to accept his offer, he did run an entire corporation. He might have a few part time job openings that would work for you. It was worth asking, right?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short chapter, but the chapters for this do get longer around chapter 12, and I'm going to do my best to keep them longer after that point. (I'm on chapter 19 now.) 
> 
> Is it bad that I find myself internally cackling while plotting out this fic? >:D  
>   
> Enjoy~

Kaiba told you that he would be back today, but you didn't know when and you had errands to run. Since he often met with you in the evenings you assumed that he probably wouldn't be by until then. Even if you were wrong, you weren't about to spend your entire day waiting for him. 

When your phone rang, he was the last person you thought about. The number was blocked so you answered your phone with a basic greeting, expecting it to be a wrong number. The blocked number should have given him away. 

“Where are you?” He didn't introduce himself, but you could tell who it was by his angry growl. 

“How did you get my number?” Okay, you had a feeling that obtaining your number wouldn't be very hard for someone like Kaiba. What you really wanted to know was why he bothered. Going to the effort of finding your number was a little bit creepy. 

“That's unimportant. Get over here and stop wasting my time.” 

He wasn't your student and you didn't have to be polite to him anymore. Except you were hoping that he might be able to get you a small job that would work with your schedule so being rude wasn't an option either. “You never gave me a time. I assumed I would see you sometime in the afternoon.” 

“Whatever. I forgive you. Just get over here now.” 

Wasn't that _generous_ of him? He was going to forgive you. You had to tell yourself that sarcasm was not the way to get a job. “I'm doing laundry at the moment. I won't be done for a while. We'll have to meet up some other time.” 

“I offer you the job opportunity of a lifetime, and you ask me to meet up with you **some other time**?!” 

You held the phone away from your ear to protect yourself from Kaiba's shouting. “I'm sorry, but I'm not really interested in the job you're offering. Maybe if you had something part time like tech support?” Then the washing machine beeped. “Sorry I have to take my clothes out. Good bye!” 

He began yelling at you again. You ignored him and ended the call before shoving your phone into your back pocket. It began ringing again almost immediately but your arms were full of wet clothes that you were attempting to shove into the dryer. The phone went ignored until it finally ceased ringing. 

You thought that he might have left a voicemail, so you pulled your phone out to check once the dryer was running. There wasn't a voicemail, but you did have a new text from a blocked number. 

“We will discuss my offer at dinner tonight. I'm picking you up at seven-thirty. Dress semi formal. -Kaiba”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting excited to catch up with newer chapters for this. :) Sorry the beginning chapters are so short. They'll get longer around chapter 12 or so and then stay longer. I'd combine them, but then I'd have to combine them on the other site this story is on or risk getting confused. 
> 
> Enjoy~

 You angrily threw open your door to reveal Kaiba. “You're late.”

“After you wasted my time earlier today, I fell behind on my work.”

You were too annoyed to form a coherent response. When you first realized that he would be late, you had a feeling that he was doing it just to spite you. Now you knew for sure that he was late just to be a jerk.

He looked you over from head to toe and didn't seem to like what he saw. “You're not dressed properly.”

Now he was insulting you. Your eyes narrowed. “What's wrong with how I'm dressed? This is a business dinner isn't it?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose as if you were giving him a headache. “Did I not tell you to dress semi-formal?”

“Yes... but doesn't that—”

“No,” he interrupted, “ _that_ is not semi-formal.” He pushed his way into your apartment, successfully irritating you and invading your personal space in the same instant. You expected him to say something, or pause in the threshold, but he continued walking.

“Wait! Where are you going?!” You chased after him. He was heading straight for your bedroom!

“I'm making sure that you actually have something appropriate to wear.”

You tried to stop him from going into your room, but he barely noticed. He easily waved you off, going straight for your closet and looking through your clothes.

Nervously you began to pick up the clothing lying around on your floor. You had the bad habit of discarding your clothes anywhere rather than keeping them in a hamper. You were embarrassed just to have him in your room, but it was mortifying to think that he might notice the underwear littered on your floor. You really hoped that he didn't notice it, but that seemed unlikely with his eye for detail.

“This will work.” Kaiba was holding out a basic black dress.

You dropped the clothes in your arms onto the bed and threw a blanket over them. “Isn't that dress a little too short? It's not professional at all.” If you went out with Kaiba while wearing that, it might look like the two of you were on a date.

“It's the most appropriate thing you own. Put it on.”

_Whatever_. You snatched the dress and stared at him expectantly. “If you want me to change, you have to get out of my room.”

He didn't say anything, but he did leave the room. You locked the door behind him just in case before changing into the dress. You considered putting on some suitable jewelry but decided that you didn't want to look too dressed up. You pulled out a pair of shoes and put them on before emerging from your room. “Okay. I'm ready... What are you doing?” Your laptop was sitting on your kitchen table, and Kaiba was messing around with it. You practically flew over to him and slammed the laptop shut.

Kaiba was unabashed. “I was simply looking at your specs. Are you ready?”

“Yeah. Let me grab my purse.” You doubted that he was telling you the truth, but you would let him think that you believed him. You kept an eye on him to make sure that he didn't touch your computer again. You were going to check it later to see what was open and figure out what he was doing.

As the two of you left your apartment, you couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the way that the night was unfolding. Kaiba was taking you to an unknown restaurant and you were wearing a dress that you normally wore when you went out to bars. He walked ahead as the two of you made your way down the narrow staircase, and you observed his clothes. He wasn't wearing business clothes either. You would have expected him to be in a suit, but he was wearing dress pants and a button up shirt. It was dressy but still casual, exactly the definition of semi-formal and the sort of thing you would expect to see him wear on the cover of a tabloid while a vapid model clung to his arm.

This felt like a date.

But it wasn't! Seto Kaiba was not going out on a date with you. He just wanted to offer you a job. Of course it wasn't normal for someone to take a prospective employee out for dinner but that didn't mean anything. Kaiba seemed to really want you to work in his company.

Actually, you didn't even understand _why_ he wanted you to work for him so badly. It made no sense. You weren't an expert in your field. You were good enough that he would be willing to hire you, but you didn't think that you were so good that he would chase after you.

He opened the door to his car for you and the feeling that something just wasn't adding up came back. You wanted to ask him why he wanted to hire you, but you worried that it would be too abrupt. It would be better to wait for him to bring it up. After he brought up the idea of working for him, you could ask why he wanted you to work for him, and then you could use his answer to try to secure a part time job.

There wasn't very much conversation on the way to the restaurant. Kaiba asked what classes you were teaching now, and you frostily told him that you only had a single class at the moment. He did ask how that class was going, but you didn't want to talk about it. You gave him a noncommittal response, and he dropped the conversation.

Despite your irritation, you couldn't help but be slightly intimidated by the restaurant once Kaiba pulled up to it. It was a restaurant that was known for its exclusive clientele, and you never expected to find yourself eating dinner _here_.

The valet opened the door, but you didn't move. There were people walking around in front of the restaurant with cameras. Some of them were looking curiously at Kaiba's car.

Then Kaiba appeared. He stood in front of you, blocking off your view so that he was the only thing you could see. He offered you a hand and you took it. You remembered where you were and what you were doing as you let him help you out of the car.

Your foot caught on something, and you stumbled. You fell forward and straight into Kaiba's chest.

Lights began flashing all around you.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to pander to my readers~ 
> 
> This is the last short chapter. They get longer after this. :)

The camera flashes made you hyper aware of the fact that it was Seto Kaiba who was currently holding you steady. You tried to cover your face as you pulled away from him but it was too late. There were already at least five different shots of you in a compromising position with a student.

_Former_ student you corrected yourself, but somehow that didn't make the situation any less terrible. Just because he wasn't your student anymore didn't meant that this didn't look wrong.

“Mr. Kaiba! Mr. Kaiba! Who is your date?!”

You didn't know who shouted that question, but they opened the floodgates. Suddenly everyone present began to yell questions at Kaiba. It was a tidal wave of sheer noise, and you couldn't make out any single coherent sentence.

Kaiba placed a hand on the small of your back and guided you into the restaurant. You had to admit that you were secretly glad that he had an arm around you. The constant flashes of light were making it hard to see.

Once the two of you were inside and the door was closed behind you, the sound of the reporters nearly went away. You briefly mused that the door must be thick for it to be able to block out all of that noise.

“How do you deal with that?” you asked Kaiba once you got your bearings.

“I'm used to it.”

He still had an arm wrapped around your waist “I'm okay now,” you informed him, expecting him to release you.

He looked down, seemingly baffled by your words. “Good.” Then the hostess was leading the two of you to your table, and you had no choice but to continue walking with him.

At the table, he released you so that he could pull out your chair for you. You sat down, hating that he was such a gentleman and reminding yourself that this was not a date.

The moment Kaiba sat down he got straight to business. “Have you looked over the paperwork I gave you yet?”

“Yes, and I'm going to have to turn down your offer.”

He put his menu down and leveled a glare on you. “Stop wasting my time.”

You were floored. “I—Excuse me?”

“You wouldn't be here if you were really going to turn down my offer. Did you want a better starting salary?”

He had a point. If you didn't want something from him, you wouldn't be here. That made you feel a little guilty. “Well, I was wondering if you might have a part time job for me? I don't want to stop teaching, but I need a second income.”

“No.”

You knew he was direct, but you didn't expect the conversation to end that quickly. “Why not?”

“You're overqualified for any part time job at Kaiba Corp.”

You hated that word. So much. “Overqualified still means I'm capable of doing them.”

“Just take the job I'm offering you.”

The waitress arrived to take your order and the conversation paused. You just ordered the first thing that seemed appealing to you while Kaiba seemed familiar with the menu.

You waited until the waitress was no longer within earshot before speaking. “Mr. Kaiba, I don't understand why you even want to hire me for this job. I'm qualified, yes, but there are better programmers out there.”

“There are better programmers, and many of them already work for me.”

If that was true, his persistence made no sense. “Then you don't need me. I'll be fine with just a job in your technical support department.”

He leaned on the table, pressing his fingers to his forehead. After a moment he sat back up. “You're creative. You manage to explain ideas to the class in a variety of ways and your solutions aren't standard. You'll round out my current team.”

“I don't want the job.” You really didn't. You liked teaching.

He was really tense now, and you could tell he was displeased with the way the conversation was going. “If you don't take the job I'm offering, I have nothing else for you.”

You weren't sure what to say to that and silence fell between the two of you. So you settled for looking at your surroundings. The restaurant was modestly sized but busy, and a majority of the tables were full. Your table was off to the side and near a corner. The windows were curtained, presumably to keep the press from being able to look inside.

You nervously took a sip of water, just for something to do. Kaiba was on his phone, and you wondered who he was texting. Since he took his phone out first, you felt like it would be okay to take out your own. You pulled it out from your tiny little purse and checked your emails.

There was an email from Daitaro. He wanted you to forward him all of your lesson plans and previous assignments. You marked it as unread. You would deal with him when you got home. Then you angrily moved on to the next email.

It was spam. You deleted it.

“Do you work tomorrow?”

You looked up and made eye contact with Kaiba. His dark blue eyes seemed to be studying you. “Yes. I have class in the morning.” It was your only class left and a basic introductory computing class. Most of your students didn't even bother showing up.

“Spend a day in Kaiba Corp.”

“What do you mean?” Did he honestly think that he could change your mind? More importantly, why did he want you to work for him so badly?

“Come to Kaiba Corp. after your class. Spend the rest of the day in my department and see what they do. You might be interested in it.”

Well, it couldn't hurt. Maybe if you did this Kaiba would be more amiable to your request for a part time job? Plus you would be lying if you said you weren't a little bit curious about what went on in Kaiba Corp.

“Okay, but that doesn't mean I'll take the job.”

Kaiba nodded. Then he began to tell you about the project that they were currently working on so you would have some background knowledge. It was a new system and both the hardware and software were in development. The hardware was near completion but the software team was having some difficulty.

You thought that it was fascinating. You understood electrical engineering to an extent, but you weren't an expert by any standards. As you asked him questions, it became apparent that Kaiba had a big hand in the project's development. It was so interesting that you barely registered the food going into your mouth.

By the time the meal was over, you were looking forward to visiting Kaiba Corp. You still didn't want to work there, but it would be an interesting experience to see what went on.

Then the two of you walked out of the restaurant, and you were reminded of all the press. The cold air and bright lights of the cameras hit you all at once and you flinched. You crossed your arms and hugged yourself.

Kaiba must have noticed because a minute later, he dropped his jacket around your shoulders. Then his arm was wrapped around you and he was leading you back past the press. His jacket was warm, and you could barely see anything amidst all the flashing lights.

Perhaps you should be protesting, but you were just hoping that you didn't trip over something again.

You would regret this tomorrow morning when you saw the headlines.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The busier I get, the more I just want to sit around and write. xD  
>   
> This is the longest chapter so far I think. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to spend a little more time editing these before I post them from here out.  
> Enjoy~

The next morning, you woke up late and had to hurry to get ready for your class. You barely had time to grab something to eat for breakfast as you ran out the door. Since you didn't have time to brew coffee, you had to go through a drive thru for your fix.

The girl at the window openly stared at you, and at first, you thought that you had toothpaste on your face. You leaned over to look into your rear view mirror, but there wasn't anything on your face. You looked back at the girl, and she was still staring at you.

“My coffee?” you tried to remind her.

“Are you the girl who was in the paper this morning?”

Now you were staring at her. “Uh, no.”

“Oh. OH.” She got your coffee. “You look **just** like her.”

You didn't bother responding to that. It was too early in the morning, and you hadn't had your coffee yet. You had no idea what she was even going on about. So you drove away with your coffee in hand.

You were just on time for your class, and the room was nearly full when you walked it. Everyone seemed to notice you and go silent at once as you put your stuff down at the front of the room.

This was just a low level class. People rarely showed up, and you only had a full class on test days. You weren't planning to have a test today, or at least, you didn't think so.

“Is there a test on the syllabus today?” You were only half joking but people laughed so you assumed that that was a no. You decided not to ask people why they actually showed up for class. It wasn't a problem, just odd.

You began to lecture. There was something that everyone seemed to be talking about. A few of your students had their phones out and they didn't seem to be taking notes at all. “Okay guys, what's going on?” you finally asked.

There was silence and nobody seemed to want to make eye contact with you. You stared them down. Experience in a classroom taught you that if you stared at them in silence for long enough someone would crack eventually.

One of your girls finally pulled out a newspaper. “Is this you?”

“I doubt it.” You walked over and looked at the newspaper. _Oh shit_. It was a picture of you wearing Kaiba's jacket and standing next to him. You forced yourself to drop the paper. “No.” You hoped that you didn't just give yourself away.

You walked back to the front of the room and tried to continue your lecture, but the girls were obsessed with comparing you to the newspaper picture. They tried to be discreet, but you could see them looking down at the paper and then back at you. Eventually you packed up your stuff. “This is ridiculous. I can tell you're all distracted by gossip. Class dismissed.”

Then you shot out the door wondering if you could go home and _hide_. One of the girls caught up to you in the hallway and kept pace with you as you walked to your car.

“Professor. That _really_ does look like you. If it isn't you, then you must have an identical twin.”

“Maybe I do and I just don't know about it.”

She was unconvinced. “I promise not to tell anyone. I was just curious that's all. What's Seto Kaiba like?”

“I had him in one of my other classes. He's a hard worker. That's all I know.” It was the truth phrased in a deceptive way.

It didn't work. She was still walking with you and watching you skeptically. “So, you taught him, but that's not you having dinner with him?”

You couldn't blame her for not believing you. That picture was a really clear shot of your face, but you didn't know how to deal with the problem and denial was your first instinct. Now that you said it wasn't you, it would be near impossible to take it back. “No. Definitely not me.” You wished you were a better liar.

She still wasn't convinced, but she finally left. “I'll see you in the next class, Professor!” Maybe it was just you, but that sounded vaguely ominous.

Once you reached your car, you just sat in it for a moment. Kaiba would know what to do. He dealt with this sort of thing all the time. Since the article also concerned him, he might already be doing something about it. Your first instinct was to give him a call to see if he already saw the article, but you didn't have his number. The few times that he called you, he did so from a blocked number, and you never bothered asking him for his number.

But you did have his email. You typed up a quick email on your phone letting him know that you were heading over to Kaiba Corp. now and asking if he saw the news this morning. Then you put your phone aside and started your car. He probably wouldn't have time to respond right away, and you weren't going to sit around waiting.

The drive to Kaiba Corp. took a while. It wasn't far from the college distance-wise, but with all the traffic in downtown Domino, it took you much longer than it should have to get there. After waking up late and the issue of the newspaper, you didn't have very much energy. The traffic ended up taking your remaining energy, and you found that you weren't looking forward to spending the rest of the day at Kaiba Corp. anymore.

That didn't mean that you weren't still curious. You still wanted to know what went on behind the scenes at Kaiba Corp. Unlike a lot of your colleagues, you went straight into teaching without exploring other careers. Even though you enjoyed your job, you still sometimes wished that you had the experiences with a variety of jobs like they did.

So you parked your car and walked into the Kaiba Corp. building. The moment you walked into the lobby, you were surprised by how many people were there. People were leaving the building, entering the building, coming in and out of doors, entering elevators, exiting elevators, talking in groups, and waiting for attention at the front desk. You never actually thought about what the inside of Kaiba Corp. might look like, but you still knew that this wasn't what you were expecting.

It was just as busy as the streets outside.

Last night Kaiba told you that you should check in at the front desk when you arrived at Kaiba Corp. They would be able to tell you where to go from there. So you stood in the line and waited until it was your turn to talk to one of the workers.

“Welcome to Kaiba Corp! How may I help you?”

The extreme politeness in a place owned by Kaiba amused you a little, and you smiled at the woman as you gave her your name. “I guess I just need to know where I'm supposed to go.”

She asked you for your ID so she could double check. You weren't expecting that and you had to dig into your purse for your license. You slid the card across the table toward the woman.

She picked it up and looked at your name as she typed. Then she gave your ID back to you. “It seems that Mr. Kaiba is expecting you to go straight up to his office.” She pushed her chair back and bent down to grab something from a drawer. She sat back up and presented you with a card hanging from a lanyard. “Here's your visitor's pass. You'll need it to get to Kaiba's office so don't lose it. He's on the top floor. Thank you, have a nice day!”

“You too,” you responded reflexively as you took the lanyard. It seemed strange that she needed to warn you not to lose your visitor's pass, but you took the warning to heart and put it on your neck. It dangled in front of you like a bulky necklace.

Security let you pass by without comment and you waited until it was your turn to pile into an elevator with the crowd of people. Unlike the front desk, the elevators seemed to run on a survival of the fittest system. The moment one of the doors opened, the entire crowd moved forward and people crowded into it until there wasn't anymore room left. The people who weren't able to make it would instantly move closer to one of the remaining elevators in an attempt to predict the next one that would be available.

You managed to squeeze yourself into an elevator on your second attempt, mostly because of dumb luck. The door opened almost next to you, and you dashed straight into it. The mob of people followed on your heels and formed a blob around you inside the tiny space. That was where your luck ran out. You couldn't reach the floor buttons. The button for the top floor remained unlit, and you were unable to even move your arms.

“Top floor,” you tried to say. “Could someone push the button for the top floor?” Either your pleas went unheard or nobody cared. As the elevator moved up, the crowd began to thin out little by little, and you were eventually able to fight your way to the buttons.

The elevator was still crowded by the time you reached the buttons, but now that you had managed to hit the one for the top floor, you didn't mind as much.

You couldn't imagine taking this elevator every single day for work. The pushing and shoving would drive you insane.

The top floor was the final stop, and by the time the elevators reached it, you were alone with a single other person. The other man in the elevator kept glancing your way as if he didn't want you to catch him, but he did it so frequently that you were starting to wonder if he would get whiplash. The moment the doors opened for the top floor he fled the elevator.

The elevator doors opened to reveal what looked like a small waiting room. There were two large double doors ahead of you, and you assumed that they led to Kaiba's office. Well, they were the only doors other than the ones for the elevators so they either led to Kaiba's office or you were lost.

The man who left the elevator ahead of you went straight for the desk to the right. He dropped his papers down on the desk. “Here's the paperwork from accounting for Mr. Kaiba.” Then he turned on his heels, and without waiting for a response, ran back to the elevator. He caught the doors just as they were about to close and forced them back open so he could get back inside.

It was almost impressive, even if it was a bit sad that he was in that much of a hurry.

You ignored the desk and the woman behind it in favor of walking over to the double doors. You didn't even make it all the way over before the woman was calling out to you.

“What do you think you're doing?”

You pointed at the doors. “Going into Kaiba's office.”

“Is he expecting you?” The way that she was leaning on her hand suggested that she assumed the answer would be 'no'.

“According to the front desk he is.”

She abruptly sat up straight. “You still need to check in with me. I have to give him a call to see if he's ready to see you.” She picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a button. “Mr. Kaiba, I have a...?” She looked at you expectantly. You supplied her with your name, and she repeated it back to Kaiba. “She's here to see you. Shall I let her in?” She paused. “Yes sir.”

She pressed a button and you heard the two double doors unlock. “Go right in.”

“Thank you.” You smiled before turning back to the doors. You walked over and pushed them open.

Kaiba's office was gigantic. It was more than double the size of the waiting room just outside but incredibly empty. Kaiba was sitting at his desk across the room. On one side you could see a large flat screen attached to the wall and near the flat screen there were a few couches. There were a bunch of bookshelves on the wall to your left, but otherwise, the room was devoid of furniture. It was unexpectedly bright. The entire wall behind Kaiba was composed of a large window that let the sunlight pour into the room.

You broke the silence first. “Did you see the news this morning?”

“Yes.” He didn't look at you as he talked. “They currently don't know who you are, but they'll figure it out eventually. You might want to be careful in public for a while.”

“Aren't you going to make some sort of statement?” You couldn't go to the news and tell them you weren't seeing Kaiba, but he could explain things to the press. “Something like, I wasn't on a date with that woman?”

“No. It's not worth the effort. People believe what they want.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. That was a strangely passive way of thinking about it. “You need to do something.” Your phone beeped. “My students recognized me in the picture, and they all think I'm dating...” You trailed off as you read the email that you had just received.

It was from Daitaro. “I saw the pictures in the news. I didn't realize that you were on such friendly terms with Seto Kaiba. Perhaps I was too hasty when I took your class from you. Come by my office and we'll discuss things further.”

“Yes! This is great!”

Your outburst caused Kaiba to look up at you.

“Thank you!” You were talking more to your email than Kaiba, but it occurred to you that Kaiba was responsible for this. “Thank you!” You grinned at him. “I think I'm getting my job back! This is... I need to go talk to Daitaro. We'll have to reschedule.” You didn't know what you should do first. Should you call Daitaro? Should you just drive over there and show up at his office?

“What?!” You vaguely registered the angry edge to Kaiba's voice.

He was probably angry that you were just leaving when you made plans to see Kaiba Corp. “I'm sorry. I'll come by some other time? Bye!” You just left his office without another word.

You were in such a hurry to leave that you didn't see the frustrated glare that Kaiba sent at your back. Once you were gone, he just sat and glared at the door for a while. If you had stayed around to see it, it might have served as a warning.  


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a one shot I'm working on that I wanted to have posted for a midweek treat, but it looks like it may not be done until tomorrow. ): So I'm updating this instead.
> 
> Oh, you guys are going to hate me so much after this chapter. So very very much~

Daitaro's office door was wide open so you simply walked inside, knocking lightly on the door as you walked past it. He was working on his computer, but once he looked up and saw you, he sat up and gave you his full attention. 

“Hello, Daitaro. I got your email.”

“Yes! Good.” He looked around his desk for a moment before picking up a copy of today's paper. “I wanted to talk with you about this picture. The two of you aren't on a date correct?”

“No! Absolutely not!” You shook your head to emphasize your point. You would never ever date a student. “It was mostly business. He wanted to offer me a job at his company.”

“Did you accept it?”

“No.” You pulled out the empty chair and sat down. Daitaro hadn't offered you a seat, but this conversation seemed like it might take a while.

“Why not? I hear jobs in his company can be very good depending on the department. I'm sure he wasn't offering you anything inconsequential if he offered it to you personally.”

You shrugged. “I like teaching. You know that. I've always wanted to teach.”

Daitaro sat back in his chair. “Did I ever tell you that I applied for a job at Kaiba Corp. once?”

“No.” You didn't understand where he was going with this conversation, but you weren't going to antagonize Daitaro by asking what his point was.

“Oh yes. At the very height of my career. As one of the best known programmers, I decided that it would be easy to get a position within Kaiba Corp. You know they have the best technology right?”

He seemed to be waiting for a response, so you nodded.

Your nod must have been enough of a response. He continued on. “I didn't get the job. I never understood why. It should have been easy for me to get the job. Kaiba Corp. should have been _begging_ me to work for them at that point!”

He was beginning to get a little too worked up. He clearly still held a grudge. You shifted in your seat and looked anywhere but at Daitaro. The conversation was making you feel uncomfortable.

“Working for Kaiba Corp. is an excellent job.” He stared directly into your eyes. “You should accept the job. I would be very interested in hearing all about what you do there.”

Your previous discomfort seemed minor in comparison to what you were feeling now. Daitaro couldn't be trying to ask you to spy on Kaiba Corp. for him or something? You didn't like his suggestion at all. If he had some sort of vendetta, you wanted no part in it. “I think I've already told you that I'm not interested in the pay increase. I **enjoy** teaching.” All you wanted was your class back. You just wanted to help people learn and inspire them. Your quiet existence was more than enough for you. It made you happy.

Daitaro frowned. “Plenty of our professors worked for private businesses before they retired and became professors. If you spent a year or two at Kaiba Corp, I'm sure you'd easily get rehired back into our staff afterward.”

“I... I'm really not interested in a brief stint at Kaiba Corp. I'm happy where I am.”

Daitaro leaned onto his desk. “I'm sure you are, but I'm not quite sure that we're happy with such an inexperienced and young professor. Especially not one who spends too much time with her students.”

You just stared at him and tried to come up with an alternate interpretation of his words. He was threatening you. If you didn't take the job at Kaiba Corp, he would fire you. It wasn't an open threat, but he still wasn't hiding his meaning. You couldn't afford to get fired either. With your inexperience, getting fired would make it nearly impossible to find another teaching job.

“I see you understand what I mean now. We'll be sad to see you leave, but I'm sure that you're so eager to start your new job at Kaiba Corp. that you'll be handing in your resignation tomorrow, correct?”

He nodded, and you mirrored his movements. Did you really have a choice? It didn't look like you had one at all. If you didn't resign, then you would be fired, and either way, you were out of a job. Well, Daitaro could go to hell. You stood and left his office without saying another word. You wouldn't pass him any Kaiba Corp. information at all. He could force you out of your position, but surely you could get another position at a different university?

All of your respect for Daitaro was gone. It wasn't because he had a personal bias against Kaiba Corp. That didn't bother you. It just irritated you that he was trying to use you to get revenge in some sick and twisted way. Well, you knew someone who could easily help you screw Daitaro over after he'd threatened you this way. You pulled out your phone, wishing that you had Kaiba's number, and shot Kaiba a quick email.

“We need to talk.” That was it. One simple sentence. The rest you would tell him in person.

You barely had time to navigate away from your email before you received a call from a blocked number.

You skipped over an opening greeting, assuming that Kaiba was on the other end. “I need your help.”

“Really?” He didn't sound like he cared. “You didn't seem to need my help earlier today when you blew off our meeting.”

Of course he would be angry about that! You slapped your forehead. In your fury at being blackmailed, the events of this morning had completely slipped your mind. Well, at least you had one thing that he wanted. Hopefully. “I'm willing to take the job you're offering me.”

There was a long moment of silence before he responded, “Perhaps I've decided not to hire someone so indecisive.”

Was he serious? He spent all that time trying to convince you to work for him, he'd practically stalked you, and now he was rescinding his offer? _Asshole_. “Fine.” You hit the end call button.

At least Daitaro no longer had a reason to blackmail you.

Except he wouldn't believe that Kaiba already changed his mind. You were still probably out of a job. For the first time in a while, you would be stuck job searching. 

Your phone rang again. It was a blocked number, probably Kaiba. You hit the call button and pressed it to your ear. “What?” you snapped.

“I wasn't finished. Never hang up on me again.”

You were too angry in general to even react to Kaiba. “Fine. What do you want now?”

“What do you want from me? I _might_ be able to think of something you can do in exchange.”

You glanced around. Nobody nearby looked like anyone who would repeat your words back to Daitaro, and by now you were a fair distance from Daitaro's office, but you still didn't feel comfortable telling Kaiba about this over the phone while you were in public. “I'd prefer to talk about it in person.”

“Fine.” Even through the phone, you could hear the way he forced that word from his lips. “I'll stop by your apartment later when I'm done with work.”

You would prefer to keep Kaiba out of your apartment. The idea of having him over still made you uncomfortable. It crossed a line you didn't want to think about. “Can't I just drop by your office?”

“No. Unlike you I'm running a major business. I'll come by your place when **I** have time.” Then he hung up, ending the conversation. Apparently he always needed to have the last word in any conversation. Not that you didn't already know that. He was often very abrupt when leaving your meetings with him. He more or less said what he wanted to say and left.

There wasn't anything left for you to do until you saw Kaiba later in the day. If you knew anything about the man, then he wouldn't stop by your place until much later. Possibly around eight or nine. So you might as well go shopping and run a few necessary errands.

Kaiba did show up later in the night but not as late as you expected. You happened to be finishing your dinner when you heard a knock at the door. Since you were expecting Kaiba, you didn't bother looking through your peep hole before opening the door.

Luckily it was Kaiba. The idea that it could have been a random person flickered across your mind right after you greeted him.

“Come in!” You opened the door wider and stepped to the side. “Have you had anything to eat yet?”

“Yes.” He stepped into your apartment. He took off his shoes and placed them next to your own.

You noticed the way his shoes made yours look small as you closed the door. “Well I'm finishing my dinner now. There's extra if anything looks appealing.”

“I'm sure it won't,” he commented as he followed you to your kitchen table. He sat down in the empty seat across from you and went straight to business. “What did you want to discuss?”

This was Kaiba's first time casually sitting in your apartment—last time he had shoved his way in so he could raid your closet—and it was making you a little nervous. Now that a few hours had gone by, you were a little less enraged with Daitaro. You were calm enough to really consider the implications of what you were about to do. It wouldn't be good if Kaiba refused to help you and decided not to hire you. Your career would be gone.

“I don't have all day!” he snapped.

You took a deep breath and decided to take the risk. It was a gamble, but you were sure that Kaiba already hated Daitaro. If he had the opportunity to maybe feed him false information, you thought that he might go for it. So you told Kaiba all about the conversation that occurred earlier in the day.

To his credit, Kaiba listened to your tale with a blank expression. You expected him to react angrily, but he had a spectacular poker face. Or he just didn't care. His expression remained unchanged even after you finished your tale.

He simply stared at you in silence for a moment. “Is that it?”

You nodded.

“That's not a concern for me. What did **you** want?”

Oh. OH. He didn't understand what you were asking. “I want to keep my teaching job. I can't do that on my own. If I try to tell anyone what Daitaro said, they won't believe me. I barely believe me and I was there. I know you probably won't help me keep my job, so I'd like to team up with you for revenge. I'm not going to lie down and let him take my job from me without a fight.”

Kaiba seemed to appraise you for a moment. “I might have a deal for you.”

You leaned forward eagerly. “Yes?”

“I'll allow you to come work for me and give you false information to feed him. Eventually he's bound to make himself look like a fool with it.”

“Yes!” That was the sort of deal you were hoping for. A temporary job and a way to get back at Daitaro.

“I haven't told you what I'll expect in return.” Kaiba was glaring at you.

You flushed. In your desire to make a good deal with him, you'd assumed he was done talking. “I assumed working for you was what I would do in exchange for the fake information?”

“Don't be ridiculous. I'm allowing you to work for me so that you can give him fake information. Of course, if you aren't capable of the job, I do reserve the right to fire you."

You nodded. That made sense. It would look suspicious if you did something stupid and he didn't fire you. Except... “I thought you wanted me to work for you?”

“I changed my mind. Now are you going to shut up and listen to the rest of the deal?”

You shut your mouth and nodded. He was clearly getting frustrated.

“In exchange for providing you with a job and false information, I will expect you to begin attending various events with me as my date.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting closer to new stuff and I am so excited!
> 
> Original note: First I want to thank the members of the KLA for putting up with all my bitching while I was working on this fic. This chapter was hard to write because I needed to set up the change of their relationship. Meanwhile Kaiba has all these ulterior motives that he can't act on because he wants to get his way. So he's behaving in a way to get what he wants rather than actually how he wants to act. And it's hard to write. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this update~

At first, you felt like laughing. Kaiba's words just seemed ridiculous. It had to be a joke. Why would he want _you_ to pose as his date for anything? Except Kaiba wasn't the sort of man who made jokes. So you held back your laughter. “Why?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes. I'm not a model. I don't understand why you would want me to be your date when you could find a more attractive woman.” You weren't the sort of woman who could be his arm candy. You didn't even have the right sort of clothing!

“I'm sick of those women. They're all idiots.”

You didn't know what to say, and his stare was beginning to make you feel uncomfortable. You stood up and began clearing the plates off your table. As you carried them into your kitchen you considered his offer. He wanted you to go to fancy events with him.

You didn't care what he claimed about his past dates being dumb, you would make a horrible date. You had no idea how to behave nor did you have appropriate clothing. If you just explained it to him he should be able to see reason. As you rinsed off your dishes, you considered the best way to phrase your argument.

When you turned back around, ready to rejoin Kaiba, he was standing right there and studying you. You braced yourself against the counter in shock. He'd managed to come up behind you without making a sound. You might have admonished him, but he spoke first.

“You haven't given me a response.”

He wasn't a patient man. You probably should consider yourself lucky that he actually gave you time to think about his words. He began to stalk toward you, causing you to nervously blurt out your thoughts, “I don't have the right clothes to be your date to anything! I'd look ridiculous standing next to you in my cheap clothes.”

“That's not an answer.” He stopped for a moment and frowned. “I can easily purchase whatever you'll need.”

Of course he could. You just didn't want him to spend money on you. At the same time, you realized that he wouldn't listen to your protests. So you changed the subject. “I don't know how to behave at upper class... things. I don't even know what sort of things you want me to be your date to.”

He began moving toward you. A moment later, you found yourself pinned to your counter with his arms encasing you. He wasn't touching you, but his face and body were dangerously close to your own. “Stop avoiding the subject. Do you agree to our deal or not?”

He was serious. Too serious for what he was asking from you. You were beginning to think that you didn't understand his request. You tried to vocalize your concerns, but it was difficult to speak when the slightest movement could cause you to brush against him. You felt pressured to agree, so you did the only thing you could. “No.”

His eyes narrowed. “No? My terms are reasonable. I refuse to alter them.” He leaned forward, and for a moment, you worried that he might try to kiss you.

“I don't feel like I understand your terms.” You put your hands on his chest and pushed. Touching him was awkward, but you really wanted him to move. Of course he wasn't about to kiss you, the thought that he might was ridiculous, but you still felt like he was too close for you to think properly.

You weren't used to having anyone this physically close to you.

He scanned your face, looking for something, before backing away. “There are too many women who pursue me wherever I go. It would be advantageous for me to appear to be involved with someone.”

“Wouldn't that look weird if you suddenly start going out with me around the same time that you hire me?” You didn't like it. People might assume you only got your job in Kaiba Corporation because you were involved with the CEO.

Kaiba wasn't bothered by your suggestion. “Who cares?”

You cared, but that didn't matter to him.

“You're intelligent. You won't say anything idiotic and embarrass me.”

It just didn't seem like a good enough reason to want _you_ , but maybe it was, you didn't actually know anything about the sort of girl he normally went out with. Maybe you really were just a convenient option.

Considering why he might want you to be his date reminded you of the real issue. Daitaro had fired you for no decent reason. Thinking about that brought back your desire for revenge. Dating Kaiba wouldn't be a high price to pay. You were getting the better end of the bargain if you really thought about it. In exchange for revenge on your asshole of an ex boss and a new job to pay the bills, you simply had to go on a few dates with Kaiba.

“Fine. As long as you help me get revenge on Daitaro I'll be your date whenever you need one.” It was his problem if you were an inadequate date.

He stared at you for a moment. You almost thought that he was surprised, but his face didn't show any indication of that. “We have a deal.”

“Yes.” You nodded and offered him your hand. “Do you want to shake on it?”

“No. We should establish rules and write out a contract.” He turned away from you and went back to your table. He opened the briefcase that seemed to go everywhere with him and pulled out a small computer.

You didn't like the way he expected you to follow him over to your own table, but you were warier of the contract in question. “Is that really necessary?

“Yes.” He began typing. “It prevents misunderstandings. Now, when will you be ready to start work at Kaiba Corp?”

He was incredibly professional, making it hard for you to be anything but professional yourself. “The day after tomorrow.” Tomorrow you needed to hand in your 'resignation'.

Kaiba nodded. “I'll give you a job in our new development team. Your skills are best suited for developing new software. You start next Monday. Any objections?”

You had no objections and shook your head. That seemed fair. “How will you let me know what information I should pass along?”

“We should meet up at least once a week. We can discuss what information you should pass along then.”

That didn't seem right. “Wouldn't it be easier to just send me an email?”

“Perhaps,” he conceded.

You waited for him to elaborate. He never did. Instead, he changed the subject.

“While you act as my date, you are forbidden from going out with other men. Even in a friendly setting. Anything that looks like a date will break our deal.”

You didn't like the sound of that. While you weren't currently involved with anyone, you still wanted to be able to go out on dates if you did find someone interesting. “No.”

He leveled a stare on you. “This is nonnegotiable. The more you are seen with me, the more people will assume about our relationship. It will look bad if you're seen with other men.”

“Fine. For now. I want the right to bring it up if I get interested in someone.”

“No.”

He was absolutely the most stubborn man you'd ever known. “I can't put my personal life on hold.”

He raised an eyebrow. “If the magazines publish pictures of you with another man, who do you think will be the victim of public wrath? There are a number of women dying to be in your shoes. They won't react well if they think you're cheating on me.”

He had a point, but his words implied that the public would see the two of you as a couple. That was... more than you thought you were agreeing to. “Are you...” No. There was no way. “Do you want me to be your girlfriend?”

He scoffed. For a moment you thought that he might laugh at you. “What a juvenile term. No I don't want you to be my _girlfriend_. I want the public to believe that we're involved. I have no interest in actually dating you.”

He meant it. It shouldn't hurt your feelings, but it did. You had your pride.

It also caused you to reconsider the deal. It seemed obvious now that going out with him as his date would make people assume that the two of you were involved. You would have expected him to correct that assumption, but even if he did, people believed what they wanted to believe.

The world would see the two of you as a couple. He expected you to keep that illusion going. Could you do that? Were you even willing to do that?

You missed being a professor. Life was less complicated. “Fine. I'll agree to whatever. I just want to add one more clause of my own. No matter what happens, I want my job back within a year.”

“I can't guarantee that. I have no control over who the university hires.”

He didn't, but he had connections and influence. “You can still help me get my job back. Especially if we manage to make Daitaro look like an idiot.”

He smirked. “By helping you feed false information to him, I'm already helping you get your job back.”

You had a feeling that he could do more than that if he wanted, but you decided to stop pushing the issue. Tomorrow you would start applying for work at other colleges when you turned in your resignation. Perhaps you could just get work elsewhere and put this whole mess behind you. That would be nice.

“What are the rest of your demands?”

The rest of his requests were reasonable.

He wanted control over what you wore when you went out with him. You agreed to that; you wouldn't have known what to wear otherwise. 

You wouldn't be able to get out of going anywhere with him. You argued that family emergencies were an exception and that he had to give you notice at least twenty-four hours in advance. He easily agreed to that stipulation. 

He didn't want you talking to the press. You had no interest in talking to them and wouldn't have even without that demand.

The trappings of a relationship seemed to be straightforward. Once you agreed to all of his demands, Kaiba packed his computer and stood. “I have a lunch meeting with a potential supplier on Friday. I want you to be there. I'll send you the details tomorrow with the contract.”

“Friday?!” That was just two days away! You didn't expect anything to happen so quickly!

He simply reminded you that you said you would be ready to start work the day after tomorrow and that he was giving you more than enough notice in advance.

He was right of course. You just thought that you would have more time to get used to the idea that you would be acting like his girlfriend. You agreed to the date.

He stopped in your doorway, looking down at you as if he expected you to give him a hug or something.

“Did you want something else?” You couldn't read his mind.

One of his hands grasped your shoulder, and you tried not to shy away. You weren't expecting him to do that. He stared down into your eyes. The downward turn of his lips made him seem unhappy, but with Kaiba, that might not be true. As he stared at your face, his hand slid across your shoulders and toward your neck.

You just stood motionless like an animal caught in the headlights of a car.

Then he released you and left.

You weren't able to breathe properly again until your door was closed and locked. Every part of your body seemed to be tense. You didn't know why, but you felt like you were still caught in the headlights.  


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy~?

Dropping off your resignation letter was difficult. You put it off, running to the store for groceries and doing any errands that you could. Putting it off didn’t make you feel bad either. Daitaro might be waiting for you to show up, and forcing him to wait would be a perk. 

Still, you couldn’t put it off forever, as tempting as the thought was, and you eventually found your way to campus. Daitaro’s door was shut, which was unusual, so you found yourself staring at it for a moment. You were tempted to just shove your letter under his door but curbed that impulse. Instead, you tapped on the door with your knuckles. 

“Come in!”

You pushed open the door to reveal Daitaro sitting at his desk and working at his computer. He glanced up at you and scowled. “I’ve tried emailing you. I expected you earlier in the day?” 

You ignored him and tightened your grip on the envelope containing your letter. At no point had you told him when you would come in. “Well, I wasn’t in a hurry to quit a job I love.” If he wasn’t your boss anymore, then it didn’t matter how rude your words were. 

“Come now!” Daitaro motioned for you to walk over. “I’m sure you’ll enjoy working at Kaiba Corp! And remember, you’re doing it for a good cause!”

“I just don’t understand why you need me to do this.” You stayed where you were. “Seto Kaiba refused to hire you once. So what? I don’t want to get involved.” 

“Don’t you think that Kaiba is arrogant? Especially for his age. He needs someone to put him in his place.” 

You didn’t like this side of Daitaro. It was just as arrogant as he claimed that Kaiba was. This entire situation made you uncomfortable, and you simply stayed silent. 

Then Daitaro slammed his fist down on his desk. “I have been acknowledged by everyone in this field! Everyone but _Seto Kaiba!_ Well, I won’t have it! He’s not better than me! He’s just a kid!”

Before you were uncomfortable, but now you were starting to feel nervous. His ranting was simply making him sound crazy. Still in the same spot, you began to shift your weight from side to side. Kaiba was an ass. Daitaro was an ass. Everyone seemed to just hate each other, and you were starting to feel fed up with the entire debacle. 

You were saved from responding to Daitaro’s outburst by your cellphone. When it began to ring, you turned away from Daitaro and fished it out of your pocket. Ignoring any protest that Daitaro might make, you walked back out into the hallway as you answered the call. “Hello?” 

There was a woman on the other end, and she hesitantly said your name, asking if she could speak to you. 

“Um. You’re already talking to me. Who’s this?” 

“This is Nurse Tanaka from Shiritsusapporo Hospital. I’m contacting you because your mother has been admitted to our hospital after suffering from a mild stroke—”

You heard the word _stroke_ and panicked. “Is she alright?!” 

“Yes. She’ll be fine. I’m simply calling because she’s going to need someone to pick her up, take her home, and maybe look after her for a while, if that’s possible.” 

“Yes, yes.” It would take you a few hours to get to Sapporo from Domino, even if you left right this second, which you couldn’t. You needed to go back to your apartment and pack some clothes. Your mother might need you to help her out for a few weeks, and you wanted to be prepared. “Just a moment please.” You walked back into Daitaro’s office and tossed the envelope onto his desk. “Go to hell,” you told him, holding your phone away from your face. 

Then you turned on your heel and practically ran out of his office, pressing the phone back to your ear. “I’m in Domino now, but I’ll try to get there as soon as possible. Will it be okay if I don’t show up for a few hours?” 

“That’s perfectly okay! There’s no need to hurry. Your mother isn’t scheduled to leave the hospital until at least tomorrow. So take your time.” 

You nodded, even though the woman couldn’t see you. “Yes. Okay. I’ll be there as soon as possible.” You just needed to see your mother at this point. She could have died, and the last time that you saw her was over a year ago. You said your goodbyes and hung up. 

As you drove back to your apartment, you couldn’t stop yourself from weaving in and out of traffic, cutting cars off and speeding the entire way. That sense of urgency didn’t leave, and you ran up the stairs of your building, too nervous and stressed to wait for the elevator. Once you were inside, you threw your door shut behind you and zoomed into your room. 

The largest bag that you owned was tossed onto your bed, and you began to throw clothing into it. You took the time to fold your clothes so that they wouldn’t take up too much space—you might not have enough as it was—but hopped from foot to foot as you did so. 

You had too much nervous energy. 

In the back of your head, you knew that you should be making a list, but you didn’t have the time. Or, at least, you felt like you didn’t have the time. After you packed, you still had to drive all the way up to Sapporo, and traffic would probably be a mess. Plus, you would have to find a ferry to take you and your car over to that part of Japan. 

When Seto Kaiba walked into your bedroom, you barely paid attention to him. He shouldn’t be here, but he didn’t matter. You continued to throw all your bathroom necessities into a ziplock bag. 

“What are you doing?” His question was a demand, and he rudely began to look through your bag. 

“Stop that!” You tossed the ziplock at the bag, almost hitting him. “I’m packing.” Obviously. You dove back into your bathroom and began opening all your drawers, making sure that you weren’t leaving anything behind. You shoved a fistful of hair ties around your wrist and grabbed your brush. Then you grabbed a few pads and tampons, just in case. You hurried back into your room and shoved the brush and emergency supplies into your bag. 

Kaiba wouldn’t let the subject drop. “Where are you going?”

“Sapporo. My mother is in the hospital.” You stopped in the middle of the room and stared at him. It suddenly dawned on you that you’d agreed to start working for him soon. “Our deal is off.” You nodded once to yourself and looked around your room for more things to pack. 

Kaiba reached out and grabbed your wrist, but you twisted away from him and began to throw open all your drawers. 

“You won’t make it to Sapporo until sometime tomorrow.” 

You turned on him. “I drive fast.” 

“You won’t reach the ocean for a few hours. The ferry won’t be running by then, if it’s even running now.” 

You didn’t know why he was telling you any of this. “So what? I need to get to my mother. You have to understand. If I sleep in my car, then I sleep in my car and wait for the ferry to start.”

Kaiba made a noise of frustration and rubbed his temples. “You’re not thinking clearly. You’ll probably get into an accident—”

“Look! I don’t need this right now. I need to pack. I need to get on the road. I need to do **something**.” You breathing was labored, and you suspected that you might have a panic attack if you didn’t slow down so you took a few deep, even breaths. 

Kaiba was glaring at you now. “I have a private jet. I was going to offer to fly you there before you interrupted me.” 

You felt your mouth fall open, and you twisted the jacket that you were currently clutching. “You’d fly me…? Why?” 

Kaiba shrugged and looked away from you. “It would be a shame if you died trying to drive through the ocean.”

That seemed oddly… nice, and you weren’t sure how to respond. “Thank you?”

“Don’t read into it. You’re not an idiot, and you’re a halfway decent programmer.” 

You simply stared at Kaiba. You wanted to fling your arms around him and thank him for his help. Taking a jet to Sapporo would only take an hour, maybe. It would save you a lot of time, and you would be able to get to your mother sooner. But you knew that Kaiba probably wouldn't like it if you invaded his personal space like that. You couldn't begin to explain just how much easier he was making your life, but you tried to stutter out your thanks, telling him how much you would appreciate his help.

Kaiba made eye contact with you again. “Whatever. Just let me know when you’re ready to leave.” Then he left your room, presumably to go sit at your kitchen table or on your couch. 

His offer left you dazed and distracted for a moment. It completely changed your plans, but the change was an improvement. Still, you needed to finish packing, and your bag was beginning to look bloated. 

You were so worried about your mother that you didn’t even consider the idea that Kaiba would want something in exchange.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing too exciting here. Enjoy!

Flying via Kaiba’s private jet was unlike any other flight experience that you’d ever had. Of course, you didn’t fly much--you weren’t a businessman like him--but sitting in an almost empty plane was a novelty. It was nice being able to select whichever seat you wanted. You almost expected a maid to wait hand and foot on you the entire time. It was new and exciting, and for a brief moment, it even took your mind off of your mother’s current condition.

But just for a moment.

Then you were back to worrying. The jet seemed to take forever to take off, and then once it was in the air, it still wasn’t moving quickly enough for you. You began to fidget, looking out the window every so often and tapping your feet against the floor. “How much longer will it take?”

“At least an hour.” Kaiba was sitting across from you, and he already had a laptop open on his lap. “No, we can’t speed up.” 

You wrinkled your nose and wondered why he’d said that. You weren’t a little kid. In fact, you were older than him. It was a fact that he constantly seemed to forget. 

Then a pile of papers landed in your lap. “What the--?!” You grabbed at them, trying to keep them in your lap, but some of them fell to the floor around your feet. As you tried to gather the papers, you kept shooting glares in Kaiba’s direction. 

“Since you obviously need something to do, look over those reports for me.” 

“Are you serious?” You stared at him for a moment, brows furrowed with confusion. “I’m not doing your work.”

“Of course not.” He scoffed, and it was clear that he never would consider giving you his work. “Those are the types of reports you will read over while you work for me.” 

Oh. Right. Amid all of your panic, you’d forgotten that you agreed to work for him at Kaiba Corp. All of the problems that you were facing in your life right now just seemed so small while your mother was in the hospital. Nothing else mattered but her. 

If she wasn’t okay, you wouldn’t be able to return to Domino. She might need your help at home.

Still, you were curious about the reports. Teaching had always been your first choice of a career, and you had no clue what Kaiba would expect from you at Kaiba Corp. You looked down at the papers and began to read over the one on the very top.

\-----

By the time the jet started the process of landing, you were thankful for an excuse to discard the pile of papers. Yes, you were relieved that you would see your mother soon, but those bug reports had been so boring that you felt like your brain was no longer working. In fact, for the past few minutes, you were positive that you’d just stared at the papers. You hadn’t absorbed a single thing that you’d read.

If this was what you would do in a private company, you didn’t want that type of work. Reading all those documents just confirmed that everyone had been wrong when they told you to do other things before teaching. You didn’t want to read about programs designed by other people and bugs that they kept encountering. You didn’t want to analyze the efficiency of the code for an attack.

You liked teaching. You loved the feeling of helping someone understand a complex idea. When you watched a student’s face as they had a moment of complete clarity, you felt proud of them. It was fulfilling, and it made you happy. 

Working at Kaiba Corp. would just make you miserable.

Now you just needed to figure out how to tell Kaiba that you wouldn’t be working for him. You carefully piled the papers, trying to figure out what order they needed to be in, and placed them on the table in front of you.

The moment the plane landed, you were up and out of your seat. Maybe you should have waited for the all clear, but you wanted to grab your bags and go. Now that you were just a simple Taxi ride away from your mother, everything was starting to feel real. “Thank you, Kaiba.” You clutched your bag close to your side. “It really was very kind of you to take me this far.”

“You’re not at the hospital yet,” Kaiba pointed out, still seated. 

You weren’t sure where he was going with that. “No.”

“Visiting hours are almost over.” 

You pulled out your phone and checked the time. He was right. “I… I need to hurry! Thanks again, and—”

“Let my driver take you.” Kaiba stood, picking up his suitcase and walking past you to the jet’s door. 

“I couldn’t. I’ll just take a Taxi.”

Kaiba opened the door. “Don’t be polite. My driver will be faster.” He took off without looking back at you, and after a moment of hesitation, you followed him. He was right, and you didn’t have the time to argue with him. You wanted to see your mother tonight. You needed to make sure she was okay. 

Kaiba led you through the busy airport, and you had to fight to keep up with him. He did slow down, and he never checked to make sure that you were behind him. Then, once he made it to the front of the airport, he stood aside to let you get into the backseat of his limousine first. 

He was a strange man. You didn’t think you would ever be able to understand his actions. 

You were surprised to realize that he was going to go to the hospital with you, and even more surprised when he actually followed you into the hospital. You honestly did expect any of this from him. 

But you weren’t about to question it. When the nurse tried to stop you from visiting your mother, claiming that visiting hours were about to end, Kaiba shut her up by pointing out that visiting hours weren’t over yet. While she stared at him and floundered for something to say, you rushed past her and toward your mother’s room. 

After you pushed the door open, you froze. Your mother was in bed with her eyes shut. She had a mask on her face, and you could hear every single shallow breath that she took. There were more than a few machines hooked up to her, and she looked… fragile. It was just a deep reminder that your mother could have died. 

You whimpered and moved to the side of your mother’s bed. Her hand was resting next to her, but there was a needle attached to her arm so you were careful as you slide your hand under hers. You wrapped your fingers around her hand, trying not to jostle her. Her eyes didn’t open. She continued to sleep. 

You ran your thumb over the back of her hand. She would need someone to keep an eye on her for a while. That much was obvious. 

For a while, you just sat there, staring at your mother’s ashen face and listening to the beep of the machines. 

“Miss? I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over.” 

You looked up to find a nurse standing in the doorway. “Okay. I understand.” You released your mother’s hand and carefully smoothed back some of her hair. Then you stepped away from her bed and picked up your stuff from the floor. “Is there any paperwork that I need to fill out?” 

“No, miss. It’s all been taken care of.”

You nodded. Your mother must have been able to fill out everything herself earlier. 

Kaiba was standing outside your mother’s room, and you almost walked right past him. “You haven’t left yet?” 

“I was waiting for you,” Kaiba snapped. “I assumed you would need a ride to a hotel.” 

“I’m staying at my mother’s, actually.” You stood in the hallway, staring at him. “But I could have caught a Taxi. You don’t have to go out of your way like this for me.” 

“You’re right. I don’t.” Kaiba pushed away from the wall and moved closer to you. He stopped right in front of you and stared down at you. “However, I still have business to discuss with you.” 

Guilt shot through you. You needed to tell Kaiba you wouldn’t be working for him anytime soon. “Look, Kaiba—”

An alarm went off, interrupting you. All of the nurses nearby began to shout and rush around. Kaiba wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you to the side as a woman rushed by with a machine on wheels. 

“This isn’t the place to discuss anything,” Kaiba commented as he watched the organized chaos. 

You peeked into your mother’s room. She was still asleep, and the alarm had nothing to do with her. “Okay. Let’s go.” 

You were tired, but putting off the conversation wouldn’t make it go away. Kaiba needed to know that you were going to stay here. He needed to know that you never planned on working for him. 

Hopefully he wouldn’t take it too hard.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed bringing in the reader's mom. If anyone is going to point out when you're being stupid, it's your mom. (Or at least, my mom does.)
> 
> The next chapter will be the beginning of sexual tension flying around. (You'll probably see what I mean, maybe.)  
>   
> Please enjoy~

The car was silent as you rode home with Kaiba. You gave Kaiba's driver the address of your mother's home, and after that, there wasn’t any other reason to speak. 

Kaiba didn’t talk much in general, and he seemed to be busy with something on his laptop. You told yourself that you didn’t want to disturb him. The truth was that you didn’t know what to say. Starting the conversation on your own would be difficult.

If you didn’t tell him tonight, you might not get the chance to tell him again in person. 

“I won’t be going back to Domino,” you blurted out. It was sudden and didn’t explain anything, but it did get Kaiba’s attention. His eyes focused on you, and backing out was no longer an option. “I think I need to stay here and take care of my mother.” 

Kaiba closed his laptop. The top clicked in place, but he left it sitting on his lap. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t work at Kaiba Corp. remotely.” 

Shame chipped away at your resolve. You felt bad about just turning Kaiba down this way. The position he offered you was excellent, and you already stated you’d take it. “I’m sorry. I won’t be working for you.”

“You won’t find a better job. Think about your career.” 

“I know, but I’m not trying to have a career.” This was the part you didn’t think he would understand. Most people didn’t. You looked up, making eye contact. “I’ve wanted to be a teacher for years, and I enjoy it. It’s all I want to do, and I’ll be happy if I can get another teaching job here.” 

Kaiba observed you, and you didn’t know what he was thinking. The driver had parked in front of your mother’s home, but you were pinned to your seat by Kaiba’s eyes. He was still studying your face as he said, “People would kill for the job I’ve offered you.” 

You didn’t doubt that. “It’s not…” He was staring at you so intently that you had to be honest with him. “I wouldn’t enjoy it. Sure, figuring out the bug that’s stopping a code from behaving properly is a great feeling, but I’d rather help someone else figure out where the bug is. Helping my students understand a concept, watching their faces light up as they finally get it… Well, that’s what I enjoy.”

Silence stretched between the two of you, and it was obvious Kaiba didn’t understand.

You shrugged and reached for the door. “Thanks for the ride, Kaiba.” 

“Wait.” His hand caught your arm, keeping you in the car. “This isn’t over.” 

You looked out of the window rather than at him. “You can’t persuade me to work for you. My mother needs me right now, and I know I’d hate the job. I want to teach, and if that means I have to take a job at some local high school… then that’s what I’ll do.”

Kaiba growled but released your arm. 

You turned back toward him as you slid out of his car. He looked frustrated. “Thank you for everything, Kaiba. Really.” 

“We’re not—“ He seemed to rethink his words. “I’ll be back tomorrow to take you out for breakfast.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but he cut you off.

“Be ready by seven.” 

His tone told you that arguing would be pointless. It wasn’t open for discussion. 

“Okay,” you agreed, hoping you wouldn’t regret this.

\-----

He knocked on the door to your mother's small home at exactly seven. You would have accused him of standing outside and staring at his watch until it was exactly seven, but you didn't know him well enough to know how he would react to that.

You weren't dressed too nicely. After breakfast, you planned to visit the hospital to see if your mother was awake.

"I still don't want to work for you," you blurted out rather than greeting him. You stared at him, knowing that you were acting obstinate and not caring.

"Then don't." He turned and walked toward his limousine. You thought he was storming away, but then he turned back to look at you. "Are you coming or not?"

Your mouth hung open for a moment. "Yeah, sure." You hadn't expected that. After his constant push for you to work for him, you weren't expecting him to give up without a huge argument.

It made you wary. He had to be planning something.

Breakfast didn't help. He didn't bring up the job at Kaiba Corp. once. Instead, he asked you about your time in college. He wanted to know what college was like for you, and knowing he didn't have time for the full college experience, you told him all of the gory details. Then he wanted to know what led you to a career as a professor. That was harder and involved some personal details, so you skimmed over it and tried to turn the conversation back to him.

He wouldn't let you. Somehow, the conversation found its way back to you every time.

By the time he dropped you back at your mother's, you didn't know what to make of the entire morning. Without really considering your words, you even told him that the two of you should eat together again sometime. He agreed, but you assumed he was just acting polite. It was idle conversation. The two of you might never see each other again.

Realizing that you probably wouldn’t talk to him again did bother you. He was interesting and smart. Almost a friend.

You had other things to worry about. So you pushed him to the back of your mind.

Your mother had a tiny car of her own, and it was still parked out in front of her house. Since using the bus would take too long, you decided to drive your mother's car to the hospital so you could visit her. By now, visiting hours should have started. You just needed to grab your laptop and head over there. 

Sapporo was actually your home town. Your mother had lived in her tiny little home just outside of town for as long as you could remember. Somehow, you still got lost on your way to the hospital. 

It hurt your pride to have to pull over and bring up directions on your phone. You used to _live_ here. You first learned how to drive in this small town, and now you couldn’t even find the hospital.

You didn't expect the rush of emotion that you felt when you finally walked into your mother's hospital room and found her smiling at you. "Mom!" You grinned back at her, feeling your eyes water as you placed your bag down in a chair. "How are you? I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner."

"That's fine, sweetie. You didn't even need to come at all." She reached out a hand. You tried to take her hand, but she pulled it away at the last minute and smacked you. "Why didn't you tell me about your boyfriend!" she admonished. 

You just stared at her, unsure who she was talking about. The last time you'd even had anything resembling a boyfriend had been a few months ago. 

She took pity on your blank look and waved at the vase of flowers sitting next to your bed. "He sent me these and a card. Very thoughtful of him, especially since you haven't let me meet him yet." 

"I honestly don't have a boyfriend, mom. Maybe you just have a secret admirer?” you suggested.

She grinned at you. "Somehow, I don't think Seto Kaiba has any desire for a woman he's never met. Especially not a woman old enough to be his mother." 

“Kaiba sent you flowers?” you blurted out, disbelief written all over your face. 

Your mother smiled, and she seemed to be pleased with herself. “So you are dating him!”

“I—what? No!”

“Don’t worry, sweetie. I won’t brag. No matter how tempting it might be.”

You almost started to tell your mother he was just a student. Then you realized just how bad that could sound. Explaining that he wasn’t your student anymore was out of the question, too. You didn’t want to tell your mom about any of the recent events in your life. It was best to just stop protesting. “Sure, mom.” She gave you a knowing grin, and you ignored her, opting to change the subject. “Has your doctor told you when they might release you?”

"He mentioned they might keep me for a few days just for observation." She was still smiling at you. 

"But you're okay? No complications, right?" 

"Nothing too serious. Don't worry so much." 

You nodded without really believing her. You felt like she was trying to dismiss your questions. Her smug grin had dropped off her face. Still, you knew that if you pressed the issue, she wouldn't tell you what was going on. Maybe a nurse would. "Well, I'm going to go get a drink from one of the vending machines. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm fine." 

You just nodded and left her room. There was a nurse's station nearby, and they all seemed busy, but you hoped one of them would talk with you about how your mother was doing. 

The nurse was brisk, making it clear she had better things to do, and she didn’t mince words as she explained that your mother’s stroke had caused her to temporarily lose some movement on her left side. She wasn’t paralyzed, and full functionality was expected to return, but for now, she was having difficulty moving her left arm and leg.

Then the nurse brushed past you, stating she had patients to check on. You let her leave. You knew what you wanted to know. Now you just had to figure out what to do with that information. 

At the vending machine, you purchased some water before heading back to your mother’s room. You smiled at her, but as you sat down in a chair and pulled out your laptop, you couldn’t stop from wondering if she was in any pain. Could she feel her left side still? 

“How is work?” your mother asked. “I’m surprised you were even able to get time off to visit me.” 

“It’s… fine.” Nope. You still couldn’t work up the nerve to tell her anything that was going on right now. None of it was your fault, but you still felt ashamed. “I dunno. I was thinking about moving back here to be closer to you.” 

“Don’t you dare!” Your mother glared at you. “I am so, so proud of you, sweetie. And I’m proud of everything you’ve done with your life. Don’t screw it up just because you’re worried about me.” 

“Mom—”

“Stop. I’ll be _fine._ After some physical therapy, I’ll be better than I was before the stroke. You don’t need to take care of me.”

You couldn’t fight her on the issue right now. That much was clear. Her mind was set. Luckily, a nurse showed up with some food for your mother and a round of medication. As the nurse spoke with your mother, you opened your laptop and started looking for a teaching position nearby. Maybe if you found work, your mother would be more open to the idea of having you nearby. 

When your phone rang, you kept your eyes focused on your computer screen as you answered it. “Hello?” 

“You told Kaiba!” 

Eyes wide with surprise, you pulled the phone away from your face as Daitaro yelled at you. “Of course I did.” Since you had no intention of going back to Domino, you saw no reason to lie. 

“You bitch! Seto Kaiba just called and threatened me, and I don’t care if he’s protecting you now because he won’t be around forever! You can have your job back, but don’t think you’ve won! I’ll make sure you don’t enjoy it!” 

Then the line abruptly went dead. You looked at your phone to make sure that the call was actually over before glancing up at your mother. Daitaro’s voice had been loud, and you worried that she may have been able to make out his words. 

She didn’t say anything, but she did look curious as she asked, “Who were you speaking to?” 

“Nobody important.” 

Your mother seemed skeptical, but she didn’t say anything. 

You silently thanked her for that. As you set your phone aside, you started telling her about the classes that you had been—or were, Daitaro's call confused you, and you weren't even sure if you wanted your job back at this point—teaching. 

She listened to your stories. Even though she had no experience with the subject material, she still smiled during all the funny moments, and you knew that she wasn't bored. Telling her about all of your students distracted you from everything else. For the moment, you forgot about everything that had happened over the past two weeks. 

At the end of one of your stories, your mother finally stopped you from starting another by asking, "Are you ever going to tell me how you met Seto Kaiba?" 

"It's really not... I don't..." You stumbled over your words. "There's nothing to tell. He's just... a friend." That was a lie. You were on good terms with Kaiba, but you wouldn't call him a friend. It was too presumptuous. However, since your mother was under the impression something was going on between the two of you, you couldn't say he was your student. It made things seem... wrong.

You weren't a cougar lusting after some young man, and you weren't abusing your position to convince him to spend time with you. There was nothing questionable about your relationship with Kaiba.

"Honey, you know the nurses like to gossip, right?" 

You just stared at her, unable to figure out where she was going with that comment. 

"They told me he showed up with you last night. The girls were so excited about it. He's apparently quite the attractive man in person." She winked at you, and you began to feel your face heat up. You sincerely hoped she wasn't going to ask any invasive questions. "From what the nurses saw, the two of you seemed very _close_."

You shook your head, unsure what would have made them think that. "He's been really nice to me," you admitted. "He flew me out here so I could visit you sooner, but we’re not involved at all.”

Your mother’s eyes went wide, and she stared at you for a moment. Then she began to laugh. “That poor, poor boy.” She shook her head. 

Her sudden burst of amusement made you nervous. You didn’t understand what had caused it, and you worried that it had something to do with the medication she was on. 

“Do you remember that boy who used to live down the street?” 

The question caught you by surprise. “Yes.” Hayato had been your childhood friend. “Why?”

“Oh. I remember the way he used to just watch you all the time. He was always coming over, looking for some excuse or another to spend time with you. Then he asked you to go to a dance with him, and you didn’t even realize he was asking you out!” Your mother’s hand moved to cover yours. “You invited some of your other friends to join the two of you for dinner beforehand. I remember the look on that poor boy’s face when he came over to the house to pick you up and realized that the two of you wouldn’t be alone.” 

You grimaced as your mother forced you to relive that event. Hayato had eventually blurted out that he loved you, a confession that blindsided you. He had been your _friend_ since you were ten, and you never realized that he saw you as more than that.

After you spent a few silent moments trying to process his confession, Hayato had run off, and your friendship with him ended up falling apart.

“Mom, why are you bringing **that** up now?” 

“Because you’re doing it again.” 

She was frowning at you now, and it made you feel like you were about to receive a scolding. “What?”

“Seto Kaiba is probably half in love with you, and you’re too oblivious to notice.”

“He’s not!” Your protest was a reflex. The moment the words left your mouth, you realized that you weren’t sure if they were true. 

Your mother… might be right. Even you could admit that Kaiba had no reason to be as nice to you as he was. Still, he wasn’t in love with you. He couldn’t be. He hardly knew you. 

That didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in you as more than a teacher or possible asset to his company. He flew you out to visit your mother, and while the cost meant nothing to him, he didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to go with you either. He could have just put you on a plane and stayed in Domino. 

He’d even admitted that he had no reason to be in Sapporo. 

Your phone rang, saving you from your current train of thought. 

“Hello?” 

“Did Daitaro call you?” 

It was Kaiba. You excused yourself, not wanting to have this conversation in front of you mother, and walked back out into the hallway, closing the door behind you.

You tried not to sound as flustered as you felt as you responded, “Yeah. He did… something about giving me my job because you… threatened him.” You stumbled into the answer. 

Kaiba hummed and didn’t deny the accusation. He was silent for a moment, maybe waiting for you to say more. Then he said, “So I’ll see you back in class on Friday? Or will you stay here until Monday?” 

You held the phone to your face with both hands, afraid you might drop it. It was hard to deny that Kaiba was going out of his way for you. He kept helping you. 

You loved your old job, but it was tainted now. Daitaro ruined it for you, and you didn’t know if you actually wanted to go back. But when you thought about how proud your mother was of you and how Kaiba must have gone out of his way to do this for you… your choice was already made. You couldn’t tell your mother you had quit, and you couldn’t bring yourself to tell Kaiba his efforts were for nothing. 

Kaiba said your name, and it was clear he was growing impatient with your silence. 

“Monday.” You would stay to be sure your mother was okay, but you were going to go back to your job. There wasn’t a choice. Not really. 

“Good.” 

The line went dead, but you stood in the hallway for a moment longer. 

Seto Kaiba was back in the position of a student. You were going to be his teacher again. 

You had the feeling that you may have just agreed to something indecent.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thanks go to Prophet Lexicon who beta read this whole chapter for me and had some very good feedback. Also thanks to Serena for looking over the fic and providing feedback as well.
> 
> Kaiba interacts with the reader's mom. It is awkward for everyone (except maybe the mom).
> 
> Please enjoy everyone!

On the Saturday before you were supposed to go back to work, you missed a call from Kaiba. It wasn’t intentional. Your mom was back in her own house, and in the process of helping her settle in, you’d left your phone connected to the charger in your room. 

He left a message, and when you were done listening to it, you had to admit your mother might have a point. He was offering to fly you home on his jet tomorrow. Well, it wasn’t an offer exactly. He was telling you to let him know when you would be ready to leave tomorrow so he could pick you up. 

You assumed he wasn’t still in Sapporo. He’d mentioned a lunch meeting on Friday, and he would have had to go back to Domino for that. 

Since you still didn’t have a way to call him, you emailed him instead. It wouldn’t be too much of a hassle to take the ferry to the mainland and then the train back to Domino, and it had been what you planned on doing in the first place. You thanked him for his offer but declined, letting him know what your plans were. 

He showed up at the door on Sunday morning. When you opened the door, you were surprised to see him but only for a moment. He was too pushy to take no for an answer, but you assumed he had better things to do than ferry you around. 

“Kaiba, didn’t you get my email?” 

He crossed his arms and glared at you. “Taking the ferry and then the train will take hours. It’s a waste of time.” 

Somehow, you felt like he was scolding you. “I could just read or work on my computer the whole time. It’s no big deal. You didn’t have to come back to Sapporo to get me. I’m sure you have better things to do.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous. It barely takes any time in my jet.” 

You stood at your door in silence. Kaiba wasn’t a nice man. You liked him, but you knew that he didn’t have a generous heart. There were people out there who would take you to see your mom and then take you home, and they would do it simply because it was the nice thing to do. Kaiba wasn’t one of those people. 

“Who’s at the door?” Your mother's voice interrupted the awkward silence. She came up behind you, smiling at Kaiba. “Hi.” She extended her hand to Kaiba. “I'm her mother. Call me Ayuka.”

“Seto Kaiba.” He shook her hand. 

“Won't you come in? We're about to have breakfast. You can join us.”

He frowned but not directly at your mother. “I have the time.” He seemed hesitant or maybe he was just confused.

Your mother had to pull you aside so that Kaiba could come into the house. She closed the door and winked at you once his back was turned. At some point, you would have to explain to her that he was a student and very much off-limits. 

“So, Seto, I’m going to call you Seto, I hear you helped my daughter get down here?” Your mother smiled at him. “Thank you for that. It was very kind of you to go out of your way to help her.”

You tried to glare at your mother without letting Kaiba see. She was digging for information, and you did not appreciate it. 

“It was no effort.” On the plus side, Kaiba didn’t seem to know how to handle your mother. He seemed uneasy, and it was unlikely that she would get anything significant out of him. 

Your mother wasn’t done with him yet. “I assume you’re here to take her home, too?” She turned to you. “Now isn’t that nice of him? Are you sure the two of you aren’t dating?” 

“Mother!” Your face felt so red. You didn’t expect her to be so forward with Kaiba. “He’s my student! And younger than I am!” You shot a glance at Kaiba, and he seemed to be glaring down at his plate. You hoped that he wasn’t too annoyed with your mom, but he did not look happy at all. 

“Just checking. Of course he won’t be your student forever, and age is nothing but a number.” She smiled at Kaiba. “It was nice meeting you, Seto, but I’m starting to feel a little tired.” She turned to you. “Sweetie, would you help me up the stairs?” 

“Sure, mom,” you said, wary of her motivations. She had just spent the past two days insisting on doing everything by herself. There was no way she needed your help up the stairs now. Still, she was your mother, and you couldn’t just call her a liar. So you helped her up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, your mother stroked your hair. “I love you, but you are an idiot.” 

You frowned. “I'm not sure I deserve this abuse.”

“That man down there likes you. He’s interested in you as more than a teacher.”

“It’s not appropriate!” You forgot to keep your voice down. Hopefully Kaiba wasn’t eavesdropping. 

“From what I’ve heard about Seto Kaiba, I don’t think he would care.” Your mom frowned. “Don’t lead him on. It won’t end well.” 

“I’m not leading him on,” you grumbled. You wanted to deny that Kaiba had feelings for you, but it made sense. Why else would he go out of his way to help you? Why else would he have wanted you to work for him? 

You mom just patted you on the cheek. “Hopefully it won’t be another year before I see you again. Try not to get into trouble. I love you.” 

You hugged her. It wouldn’t be another year before she saw you. You would have to make plans to see her during your vacations. “I love you, too.” 

Feeling a bit sad, you went downstairs to join Kaiba. He’d made himself at home and had his laptop out on the table. He was eating the breakfast your mom gave him as he worked, and it was uncomfortable seeing him this way. It was too domestic. Students and professors shouldn’t spend time together this way. 

“When will you be ready to leave?” Kaiba hadn’t looked up so you were surprised that he even knew you were standing there. 

You were already packed. Since the ferry and the train would take a long time, you had planned to leave fairly early. “We can leave in the next ten minutes?” 

“Good.” 

While you didn’t want to leave your mother, you knew you had to get home for your classes tomorrow. You went upstairs to gather your bags, thinking about how you could fix this relationship with Kaiba. It was too intimate. He needed to go back to being just another student. 

 

After missing your classes for a week, you felt nervous returning back to them. True to his threat, Daitaro refused to make your life easier. When you emailed him asking what he’d covered in your absence, he ignored you. It was expected, so you’d also sent emails to the top student in each class. Both students had replied, letting you know what was covered. 

It helped you prepare your syllabus, but you still felt like your stomach was going to eat itself as you got ready for your first class on Monday. Normally, you paid attention to the way that you dressed at work. It was important to look professional so your students would take you seriously. Today, you realized that you also wanted to look nice. 

You told yourself that it was because you had been out for a week, but if you were honest, Kaiba may have been a motivating factor. 

Getting a ride from him yesterday had been nice. He spent the hour talking to you about the project that he was currently working on for Kaiba Corp. Since you refused to work for him, he didn’t give you any specific details, but even talking about the project in a general sense was fascinating. He wasn’t normally so open about his work, and you were suspicious that he was trying to pique your interest so you’d reconsider working for him, but you still enjoyed the conversation. You always enjoyed talking with Kaiba.

Why did he have to be so intelligent? When he wasn’t acting obnoxious, he really was a fascinating conversation partner. 

He was also a student. The fact that he was smarter than the rest of them didn’t make him any less off-limits.

You showed up a little earlier than normal to your first class on Monday. There weren’t any classes scheduled before your class in that lecture room, so it was always empty when you arrived. As expected, some of your students had questions and came up to you before the lecture began to talk to you. You answered the basic questions and asked the students with more complex questions to make appointments to come to your office hours. 

Even with some of your students standing around you, you still noticed Kaiba when he walked into the room. You smiled at him before you could stop yourself. 

You were so screwed. 

For the rest of the class, you avoided looking at Kaiba. You told yourself that you were simply paying attention to the students who needed it. 

After class, your students still had questions. You’d spent most of the class reviewing the last week, and they still had questions. You cursed Daitaro. He’d taught them terribly, and now they were having a hard time sorting out the good information from the bad. You wished you had a T.A. who could do extra tutoring for you. 

You did your best to answer as many of the questions as you could, but many of your students would need to come to your office hours. You had a feeling that your office was going to be busy for the next few days. There was no way you would be able to get very much work done during your normal office hours. 

Once your students cleared out of the room, you were surprised to find that Kaiba was still sitting at his desk in the back. He was packing up his laptop, and you waited for him to join you at the front of the room. 

“Did you need something, Mr. Kaiba?”

“Have lunch with me.” It wasn’t a question. 

You frowned. “I can’t. I’ll probably end up eating in my office today. I still have emails I need to catch up on.” 

He took a few steps toward you, and you tried to back up, but you found yourself pinned between him and a table. He was too close. You felt like if you looked up at him, he would be able to tell how flustered he was making you, but if you didn’t look up, you were stuck staring at his chest. 

He had a very broad chest. 

“Then have dinner with me later. You can’t stay here all night.”

“Are you asking me out?” You meant to ask the question as a joke, but your voice cracked halfway through. 

“Does it make a difference if I am?” 

You were looking down at his shoes now. It was hard to remember that you were his professor and older than him when he was looming over you like this. “I… we can’t. It’s not appropriate. I’m your professor again.” You couldn’t be seen with him in public again. Rumors were still floating around about the picture from your dinner ‘meeting’. 

His hand cupped your chin, and he forced you to look up and make eye-contact with him. “I don’t care. I’ll come by your office at six to pick you up.” 

He left without another word. You tried to call out that you hadn’t agreed to anything, but you couldn’t be sure that he even heard you.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update? 
> 
> Okay, mostly because it's Kaiba's birthday. I can't let that go by unobserved. :) (I've been sick for the past few days, but whatever, I don't think it impacts my writing.)
> 
> Let me know how you guys feel about this chapter? I tried to work a flashback into the narrative, and I'd like to know how it works for everyone. Does it flow okay? Should I consider working in a few more? I feel like this story starts at a weird point. I think that was mostly me being lazy and wanting to jump right into it without building the plot? (What was wrong with me?) 
> 
> Anyway, I've toyed with removing this story and rewriting it completely. The pacing is off (like I really hate it) and the plot is kind of a mess. However, as a reader, I really hate when writers do that. If I liked the original, I'd prefer to see it continued rather than rewritten. So I'm trying to fix it up a little. Slowly I'm going to see if I can fix the pacing in earlier chapters (chapters 2 and 3 have been combined already and I wrote a transitional scene). Meanwhile, I hope that maybe some flashbacks can help with filling out the background? 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! 
> 
> Enjoy ~

As you waited for six o’clock to roll around, you wanted to chicken out and leave. You weren’t about to go out to dinner with a student. No, absolutely not. Still, you weren’t sure how you would explain that to Kaiba.

You were ready to start hyperventilating. Your panic got worse as six o’clock neared, and you didn’t know if you could make it.

Every time you considered just leaving, you told yourself this was a conversation that you needed to have with Kaiba. You would not cross the line with him. He was your student, and that was it. That was all he could be.

You put your head down in your hands. How had this happened?

On the very first day of class, you had been dead set on hating Kaiba and making his life as difficult as possible…

When you walked into your very first class for your Intro to Programming course, you were beyond enraged. The Dean had felt it necessary to send you a VERY IMPORTANT email about Seto Kaiba, who would apparently be one of your students. He’d explained to you that Mr. Kaiba ( _The fact that the Dean, had called him Mr. Kaiba was laughable._ ) would be taking your class with much reluctance. It was necessary for the University to present Kaiba with a real degree rather than an honorary one, but Kaiba was a very busy man, and would you please do your best to accommodate him?

Asking you to accommodate Kaiba had been a formality as far as the Dean was concerned. While he had presented it to you as a request, he made it very clear that you were required to bend over backward for Kaiba.

You already knew that you would hate Seto Kaiba. Any student who expected special treatment was, in your books, an entitled little child who should go back to high school. They needed to be welcomed to the real world where you earned things based on the work that you did and based on your own merit.

You may not be able to openly disobey the Dean’s wishes, but there was no way you would make life easy for Seto Kaiba. Either he did the work and passed the tests or he didn’t. The end.

As you walked into the small lecture hall, you felt like scowling at everyone, but you reminded yourself that only one student was to blame for your bad mood. The rest were blameless. So you pasted a smile on your face as you put your things down on the front desk.

You checked the time. There was still some time left to go before the class officially began. You glanced around, noting that there weren’t any empty seats, but that was to be expected. The first week of classes brought out students who were waiting for a spot, hoping that someone would drop the class or forget to pay tuition.

Knowing this, you printed out extra copies of the syllabus. Hopefully you would have enough…

You noted that there seemed to be more women in the class this time around than there normally were. Your classes tended to have more men than women, but it seemed like there might be close to an even amount this quarter.

You checked the time. There was still some time before class would officially begin but only a few minutes.

You decided to start handing around the class syllabus. If any stragglers came in, they would still be able to grab one as they were passed around. You smiled at your students but waited until the last two minutes had passed before introducing yourself.

“Welcome to CS101, otherwise known as Intro to Programming. I hope that none of you forgot to register for a lab session?”

There were a few nervous looking students, but nobody said anything. You waited a moment before continuing your lecture.

“Now I’d like to spend a moment going through the course expectations. How many of you have already purchased the textbook?”

About a quarter of the class raised their hands, and you smiled at the ones who did.

“Well, if you haven’t purchased it, you’ll want to get a copy soon. I’ll start assigning work in the next lecture, and you will all have your first programming assignment due next week. We have a lot to cover in a very short time. For that reason, I don’t take attendance. If you can miss the lectures and still get your work done and pass the tests, then I see no reason to dock points. However, I’m not doing extra work so you can slack off. So don’t ask me for a makeup lecture, or slides, or any sort of notes.”

There was already a hand in the air. One of the students in the front row. You had a feeling you knew the question.

“Yes, if you have a legitimate reason for missing the lecture and can prove it, I’ll do my best to assist you.”

The hand dropped.

You smiled at the class. “Now, if you all take a look at your syllabus, the first page has all of the course information. You have my name in case you forget, and my email address if you need to contact me. My office hours and office locations are listed as well. Please reach out to me if you need a meeting outside of those hours. Questions so far?”

“The textbook listed for this course is imbecilic at best.”

A few gasps echoed through the suddenly silent lecture hall. Your smile stayed frozen in place as you stared at the boy who hadn’t even raised his hand. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mister…?” You knew that was Kaiba. Before class you had googled him.

You didn’t want to let him know that, however.

“I don’t **feel** like the textbook is imbecilic. It is. The author barely knows the difference between a type and a class.”

You fought to keep your smile on your face. What a dick. “Well, you just have to take that up with the department. They dictate the textbooks that are used.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but you cut him off. “Moving ON to the next page,” you said, turning your attention away from him. “This is the schedule for the entire quarter. Due dates for all major assignments and dates for every test can be found here. I won’t accept any excuses for not knowing any of this information.”

Kaiba didn’t speak for the rest of the initial lecture. After the lecture, he informed you that he would need all of the assignments emailed to him. He didn’t give you time to object or agree. He simply told you that it would need to be done.

So you emailed him the assignments. So what if he thought he was too good to show up to your lectures? He was clearly a flawless programmer.

Except for all the problems that you found in his first assignment. (Maybe you had to nitpick a little, and maybe you spent too much time combing through the code, but it was worth it.)

How had you gone from wanting to antagonize the arrogant child to respecting his opinion?

A single knock on your door interrupted your thoughts, pulling you back into the present, and you looked up as Kaiba entered your office.

“Are you ready to go?” It was a question, but his questions always sounded like demands.

You should have planned a speech while you waited for him. “Um, no. Could you… sit?” You gestured at the chair on the other side of your desk.

“I’ll stand.” He glanced at the clock hanging in your office. “We have reservations for six-thirty.”

He wouldn’t make this easy on you. So you took a deep breath, bracing yourself. “Please, sit. We need to talk.”

“We can talk over dinner.”

“No, we can’t.” You shook your head. “We can’t have dinner together.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We both need to eat. You and I both know you don’t have any plans tonight.”

He stepped toward you as he spoke, and now he was towering over you. You looked up at him, trying not to lose your nerve. “As your professor, I can’t go out with you, Mr. Kaiba. I’m sorry that I may have… misled you. I know I agreed to be seen with you when I’d lost my job, but circumstances have changed.” You tried to maintain eye contact with him as you spoke, but it was too hard, and at some point you’d ended up looking down at your shoes.

Then his hand grabbed your chin and tilted your head up so you were looking at him. “If I’m correct, your only objection is that you don’t want to be seen in public?”

You wanted to nod, but his hand kept your head in place. “Yes.” You felt like you should object to his casual touching. You reached up and put your hand on his wrist, pulling just hard enough to let him know that you wanted his hand removed from your face.

He released you, and you waited for him to take a step back, but he didn’t.

“Have dinner with me at my mansion.”

You opened your mouth, but all you could say was, “What?”

“My mansion is gated, and I have my own security. Nobody would know we had dinner together.”

You considered it. You shouldn’t consider it. You should say no.

You wanted to say yes, but you needed to justify it somehow. “Why?”

“You don’t want to eat with me in public,” he said, as if the answer should be obvious. His expression said you were an idiot.

You couldn’t be sure if he was being difficult or if he had misunderstood your question. You thought about the possibility of Kaiba being interested in you as more than a professor. If he were asking you on a date…

“Well?” Kaiba couldn’t hide his impatience. “Are you ready to go? I can drive you or you can follow me in your own car.”

He assumed that you would have dinner with him. You wondered where that confidence came from. The situation with Kaiba had gotten out of hand. If you said yes, it would only get worse. You needed to focus on getting through this quarter.

“I can’t be anything more than your professor, Mr. Kaiba.”

As a scowl took over Kaiba’s face, you remembered his absolute fury as he barged in your office the day after you emailed him his first assignment back. He had accused you of looking for petty mistakes. He had been correct, but you just pointed out that none of your corrections were wrong.

Somehow that had led to a debate over the importance of readability and reusable code.

Kaiba had been convinced of the superiority of all his beliefs. He still was.

“You can’t?” He grit his teeth together in a snarl. “I think you’re just afraid of anything that might threaten your easy job. You’re afraid of anything that might challenge you.”

“Please, don’t…” His sudden anger was overwhelming. He was wrong. He was just lashing out.

“Continue to email assignments to me. Inform me if the testing schedule changes.” He turned away from you. “I don’t believe I will require any more of your time, _professor_.”

He left, slamming your office door on the way out.

You made a fist with your hand, resisting the urge to go after him. This was not a mistake.

You were making the right decision.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Kaiba can be dramatic and over-the-top. Please see all of Battle City for evidence. ;) So by that logic, I think he might take romancing someone to the extremes... maybe? 
> 
> Enjoy~ Let me know what you all think! (No but really, your reactions have a very good chance at shaping the reader-character's reaction in the next chapter.)

It took almost two weeks for you to hear from Kaiba again. 

After your conversation, he skipped class at the end of the week, and you assumed that he was just sulking. He would return. 

Then he didn’t attend a single class over the following week. 

Despite yourself, you kept looking over at his usual seat during each class. You told yourself that he didn’t have perfect attendance. He had missed classes in the past. This didn’t mean anything. 

After class, you found yourself refreshing your email a few times, hoping for a message from him. In the past, he always emailed you to set up office hours when he missed a class but not this time. Sure, he emailed in his assignment, but that email was blank with just the assignment as an attachment. No snide commentary on the assignment itself. The lack of snark disappointed you somehow. 

You avoided thinking about why that might be. 

When you looked at your calendar, planning out your schedule, you noted that the final was really the only test left for the semester. Kaiba had to actually show up for that. He couldn’t expect a decent grade in the class if he flaked on the final. 

You were thinking about him too much, but you couldn’t stop. 

Then, during one of your office hours, you received a visitor. At first, you thought the man at your door was one of your students. He looked a little old, but they weren’t all young, and you couldn’t recall all of their faces. He said your full name tentatively, like he didn’t know how to talk to a professor. 

“Good afternoon,” you said, smiling. “Come on in!”

He stepped into your office holding a clipboard and a box. “I have a delivery from Kaiba Corp. for you. Um…” He hesitated, studying you. “Could I see some picture ID first? Mr. Kaiba will have me killed if I deliver this to the wrong person.” 

“Sure.” You tried to think of what Kaiba would be sending you as you dug your wallet out of your desk. You handed the man your ID, and he took a moment to glance it over, comparing it to the paper on his clipboard. 

“Thanks.” He gave you your ID back, passing the clipboard over with it. “I have a prototype of the new Kaiba Corp. phone for you. So I’ll need you to sign these forms for me. One says you received the phone. Another one is a standard non-disclosure.” 

“Oh. Um.” You took the clipboard and looked at the papers, wondering if the delivery guy knew anything. “Is it ok if I take a moment to look at this?”

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Sure,” he said, dragging the word out as if he weren’t sure that it was the right response. 

“Thanks.” You shrugged off his uncertainty with a smile. “Feel free to sit down.” You gestured at your guest chair and then turned your attention to the nondisclosure agreement. It wasn’t very long, but there was a lot of information packed into it. You honestly had no idea if it really was a standard agreement, but you understood the gist. Don’t write or talk about anything related to the prototype unless authorized to do so by Kaiba Corp’s marketing team. 

Not finding anything that looked suspicious, you signed the forms and handed them back to the delivery guy. He placed the box he was carrying on your desk. “The phone has already been set up for you. There’s a help number programmed into it that you can call if you need any assistance or technical support.”

You called out a thanks as he left, already unboxing the new phone. You tore parts of packaging away, tossing everything off to the side with the intention of cleaning up later. The phone was bigger than the one you currently owned but thinner and lighter. So much lighter. You wondered what sort of electronics they were using to manage to have something like looked like it was just a screen. You pressed the only button you could find, and the phone lit up with the time and an unlock button. 

You swiped at the button, trying to figure out if it went up or to the side. An upward swipe unlocked the phone, and you were left with a blue background and a set of standard apps. You looked into the box for a USB cable so you could hook the phone up to your computer and transfer all your information. 

As you pulled out the cable, a card fell out with it. 

_ This phone will only work for 24 hours. Come have dinner with me, and I’ll give you one of the brand new ones before they release next month.  _

The card wasn’t signed, but a signature wasn’t necessary. That scrawl could only belong to one man. 

You plugged the phone into your computer. You might as well enjoy playing with it while you had it. You wouldn’t go to dinner with Kaiba just for a phone, and based on what you could tell so far, this phone would more than likely be out of your price range. 

As you went to bed that night, you began to wonder if maybe you were being silly. How terrible would it be to have dinner with Kaiba? 

No, it was a terrible idea. It would give him the wrong idea. 

But the phone… 

You tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep easily as you debated seeing Kaiba for dinner. 

By the time you got up the next morning, you were exhausted, and you might have rolled over to go back to sleep if there weren’t someone knocking on your door.   

You checked the time, and it wasn’t so early that you could get annoyed with someone at the door. So you took a moment to make sure you were presentable and to give them time to give up and go away. They stayed at your door.

You were half expecting Kaiba to be the one at your door. Who else would be so persistent in waiting for you to answer? When it wasn’t him, you tried to hide your shock. 

“May I help you?” you asked the woman standing in the hallway outside your door. 

The woman said your name like a question, reminding you of the delivery from yesterday. 

“Yes, that’s me,” you confirmed, eyeing the container she was carrying. You wondered if that delicious smell might be coming from her rather than one of your neighbors. 

“Great! I have a breakfast delivery for you from Mr. Kaiba. May I come in?” 

You stepped aside to let her in, and then directed her toward your kitchen when she asked. Maybe you should send her back to Kaiba, but you couldn’t help but be curious. The phone you understood, it was a good bribe, but breakfast? Nevermind why he would send you a meal,  _ how _ did you even send someone a meal?

The woman put the tray down and placed her bags on your counter. She began to unpack everything, taking out eggs, flour, milk, and other assorted food items. “I’m Mr. Kaiba’s personal chef,” she introduced. “I take it he didn’t let you know he would be sending me over this morning?” You shook your head, and she smiled. “Well, that explains why he couldn’t tell me what to cook for you. I brought all the supplies I’d need for pretty much anything. Would you like coffee with your breakfast?” 

“Sure. Let me get–” 

She shooed you out of the kitchen. “You don’t need to do anything dear. Just tell me what you’d like for breakfast and sit back while I make it for you.” 

“Oh, okay.” You sat down at your small table and thought about what you wanted to eat. Unless you were eating out with someone, you didn’t normally have a choice about what to have for breakfast. Once you decided, you let her know what you wanted and asked if she could make it. 

“Of course I can! Mr. Kaiba doesn’t keep me on retainer for nothing.” She bustled around your kitchen, setting up food. “Do you mind if I use some of your pans?”

“No, that’s ok.” You couldn’t imagine a professional chef would be too happy to use your inexpensive kitchenware. 

A phone began to ring, and it took you a moment to realize that it was the new phone Kaiba had sent you. You excused yourself and dashed into your bedroom to answer it. It took a moment of messing around and tapping on the screen, but you were able to answer the phone, and video of Kaiba took over the screen.

“Oh. Hi.” Maybe you should have looked at the name before answering. 

He glanced over at you before turning his attention back to something else. “I see you’re using the new phone.” You could hear the tapping of a keyboard in the background. 

“Yeah.” You felt guilty about it. Should you have left it alone? Then again, his personal chef was out there making you breakfast, something you probably should have said no to. “Thanks for sending breakfast over. You really didn’t have to.” 

“It was nothing.” The tapping noise stopped before he looked back at you. “I see you haven’t figured out how to turn on the camera.” 

You felt your face heat up. “I haven’t had too much of a chance to use it yet.” 

“There’s a camera icon on the side.” 

Now that you knew what to look for, you noticed the little icons on the right hand side of the screen. Your finger hovered over it. Did you really want to video chat with Seto Kaiba? 

Kaiba had turned back to his work, and you could hear his fingers tapping away. 

“Was there something you wanted?” you asked, wondering why he’d called.  

“Can I expect you over for dinner tonight?” 

He didn’t seem to be interested in your answer, almost as if he expected it to be yes. His presumption helped your resolve. “I can’t.” 

He frowned but didn’t turn to face you. “You have my number when you change your mind.” 

Then the screen went black as the call ended. You frowned down at the phone.  _ When _ you changed your mind? What irritating confidence the man had. You wouldn’t change your mind. Not ever. 

You set the demo phone aside, leaving it in your room as you brought your own phone out to the kitchen. The aroma made your mouth water, and you were disappointed to see that the coffee was the only thing ready. Kaiba’s chef was still at work on your breakfast. 

You swore your stomach grumbled in protest. 

You sat down in your kitchen and Kaiba’s chef put a cup of coffee in front of you. You took a sip, and it was delicious but it didn’t have any milk or sugar so you adjusted it to your liking. It was awkward, moving around in your kitchen while trying to stay out of someone else’s way. 

“Did you need any help?” You hovered, feeling uncomfortable about sitting down while someone was cooking in your kitchen. 

“No, no. Sit down. Relax.” 

You sat, fidgeting in your seat as you watched someone else cook your breakfast. Was it rude to sit and stare like this? Should you get your computer out and work? Would that be rude? What was the protocol for this sort of situation? 

Maybe this was a bad idea? You shouldn’t have let her in. 

Instead of continuing to fidget in your seat, you decided to get out your laptop and do some grading. You found yourself surfing the internet instead, and the distraction helped you forget about the fact that you had a stranger cooking in your kitchen. 

Then an overstuffed plate landed next to you, and you stared at the food for a moment, wondering how much of that you would be able to eat. “Thank you…” You hoped she wouldn’t be offended if you weren’t able to eat this much. 

Once you took your first bite, you realized that wouldn’t be an issue. The food didn’t just smell good. No, it was the best food you’d ever eaten. Your computer was shoved aside as you devoured the food. Every so often you took a moment to drink some of the fresh orange juice that was sitting next to your plate, but mostly you just ate and ate until you found yourself scraping the plate for the last little bite. 

You looked up from the plate once the food was gone and discovered that Kaiba’s chef was almost done with the dishes. You hadn’t even realized that she’d started to clean up. You stood, bringing your plate over to the sink. “I can get the rest,” you offered, still uncomfortable with the idea of someone cleaning for you. 

“I’m almost done.” She took the plate from your hands and continued to wash your dishes. 

You stood there twisting your hands. “Thank you for the breakfast. It was delicious.”

“Don’t thank me. Mr. Kaiba sent me over.” She smiled at you. “If he tells me to go feed his girlfriend during working hours, then I do it.”

“Oh I’m not--” 

She ignored your half-hearted protest. “He tells me you’ll be over for dinner tonight. Do you have any food allergies I should be aware of? I suppose I should have asked earlier, but I assume you wouldn’t ask me to cook something that would kill you.” 

“No, um, I mean I won’t be over.” No matter how good the food is. “So you don’t need to worry.” 

She gave you a once over and hummed before turning back to the dishes. She didn’t share her thoughts with you. You were tempted to ask but sure that you didn’t want to know. 

Had Kaiba told her that you were his girlfriend, or was she simply assuming that? You couldn’t blame her if she were assuming. You could blame Kaiba if he were referring to you that way, however. 

Knocking at your door interrupted your thoughts. You walked over to the door and skipped over looking out the peephole, opting to just open it. 

Roses. There was a large vase full of roses being held by a man. The man said your name, and you turned your attention to him. “Yes?” 

“Delivery for you. Where do you want this?” 

“Oh, I’ll take it.” You reached out for the vase, regretting your words as you wondered if you would be able to hold it on your own. 

“This is pretty heavy. I can put it down somewhere for you.”

“Sure.” You backed away from the doorway, letting the man enter your apartment. “The table over there is fine.” You gestured toward your kitchen table.

You followed him as he walked over to put the vase down. The heavy thump let you know that no, that vase would not be moving from your table anytime soon. He turned and unclipped something from his belt. “If you could sign this while I get the rest?”

You took the tablet and stylus. “The rest?” 

He walked back to the door, hovering in the doorway as he spoke. “I have, um, eleven more of these for you.”

“From who?” you asked, but he was already on his way down the hallway and didn’t appear to have heard you. Well, he would be back. You looked down at the tablet as if it would answer your question, but it only showed an order number and a line for your signature. You signed and put it down on your table, turning your attention over to the vase full of white roses. 

A search showed that there wasn’t a card, but the delivery man returned with another heavy vase. You directed him to a short little end table, removing the photograph of your family so there would be space. “Who sent these?” You felt like you knew the answer, but you still needed confirmation. 

“Not sure. I think it was anonymous, but there might be a card on one of them…” Then he was back out in the hall, heading down to get yet another heavy vase. 

You were going to have to figure out where to put them. Did you even have the space for so many vases full of flowers? Could you decline the delivery?

There were so many problems vying for your attention that you couldn’t think of an answer for any of them. 

This was all too much. Kaiba was too much.


End file.
